Japanese police find missing Ugandan athlete

The athlete’s name is Julius Cecitorenko, a 20-year-old weightlifter. He arrived in Japan with the team on June 19, and later went to Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture for pre-match training. Because his world ranking dropped during the training camp, he lost his qualification for the Olympics. He was scheduled to leave Japan on July 20 and return to Uganda.

According to local officials, the last time members of the delegation saw Sechitoreco was around 0:30 on the 16th.

Local officials also said that Cechitoreko bought a Shinkansen train ticket to Nagoya on the morning of the 16th. He had a mobile phone but no passport. His passport had previously been taken away by the Ugandan Olympic team.

Police sources said on the 19th that a man suspected of Sechi Toreko was spotted on the surveillance camera of Nagoya Station, about 200 kilometers away from Izumisano City. However, the source did not say the specific date when the scene was taken.

Data compiled by the Japanese government at the end of last year show that there are about 150 Ugandans living in Aichi Prefecture, where Nagoya is located, making it the second largest concentration of Ugandan immigrants in Japan.

An unnamed source said on the 20th that the police found a man believed to be Sechi Toreko in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. Yokkaichi is about 40 kilometers from Nagoya.

Sources from the Osaka Prefecture police told *** News later on the 20th that they found a black man who carried an ID card and claimed that he was Cechi Toreko. The police were verifying the man’s identity. , and communicated with the Uganda Olympic delegation and the Ugandan Embassy in Tokyo.

Police said the man was being held in protective custody and shed tears at times during questioning.

Informed sources previously told *** News that before leaving, Cechitoreko left a note stating that he wanted to stay in Japan to work and asked the delegation to bring the things he left at the hotel. His wife in Uganda.

The Japanese government has not yet announced the trajectory of Cechitoreko’s movements after he disappeared.

The Japanese government has implemented strict epidemic prevention restrictions on members of foreign delegations, only allowing them to move around the Olympic Village and training venues, and prohibiting them from contacting local people. *** The same news agency reported that the disappearance of Cechi Torreko may exacerbate concerns in Japan about the Olympic epidemic prevention measures.

The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to open on the 23rd. At present, the epidemic situation in Tokyo is severe, with more than 1,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for several days in a row, and infection cases have also appeared in the Olympic Village. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated on the 20th that Japan can host a safe and successful Olympic Games.