Ugandan boxers 'missing' in Scotland after Commonwealth Games
Claims that athletes intend to seek asylum in UK
Four athletes who competed for Uganda during the Commonwealth Games have reportedly gone missing in Scotland, amid claims they are intending to seek asylum.
The whereabouts of the four members of the African nation’s boxing team remains unknown after the conclusion of the multi-sports spectacle in Glasgow.
The team’s captain, Nuhu Batte, and his fellow male athlete, Ibrahim Khemis, along with female boxers Angel Katushabe and Emily Nakalema, are said to have failed to turn up ahead of the team’s scheduled return to their home country on Tuesday.
The Ugandan sporting news website, NBS Sport, reported that authorities were working to trace the missing athletes, and that Team Uganda officials advised that the nation’s education and sports ministry was preparing an official statement on the matter.
It quoted one of the missing boxers, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said that the athletes intend to seek asylum and continue their boxing careers in a country they believe offers “better training facilities and opportunities.”
The boxer appealed to Ugandans for understanding and asked not to be judged for the decision, NBS Sport added.
The Ugandan newspaper, the Weekly Observer, also posted on X that officials from the Uganda Bombers - the nickname of the boxing team - said the four boxers had gone missing.
It comes after the nation’s boxing contingent failed to win a single medal at a Commonwealth Games for the first time, sparking criticism in their homeland of poor preparation, a lack of coaching expertise, and a general decline in talent.
One member of the team, Aziz Abdul, the grandson of the notorious dictator, Idi Amin, was disqualified in the third round for head-butting his opponent.
In a subsequent interview with the Weekly Observer, the 25 year-old said he lost his temper and his game plan in the ring, but claims the British media “tricked” him into making comments about his grandfather, which he believes influenced the officiating during his match.
However, he stressed that “better things” lay ahead, and that his comeback was going to result in him being recognised as “the conqueror of the British Empire and the last king of Scotland.”
“I lost it, but I’m the king, I’m the king of Scotland,” he added, laughing.
It is not the first time that Ugandan athletes have been posted missing after travelling overseas for major sporting events. At least six competitors refused to return home after the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018.
Two Ugandan rugby sevens players, Benon Kizza and Philip Pariyo, also went missing after the Commonwealth Games was staged in Glasgow in 2014. They later claimed asylum, moved to Cardiff and played for a local rugby team.
The most recent iteration of the Games concluded in Glasgow on Sunday. The event saw around 3,000 athletes from 74 nations take part.
The Home Office maintains a policy of not routinely commenting on individual asylum cases, with claims considered on their individual merits in accordance with the UK’s international obligations.
The Ugandan Ministry of Education & Sports has been contacted for comment.
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