Since his deportation from Japan ahead of the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko has never represented Uganda again and his fate remains unknown.
Ssekitoleko’s case at the Olympics garnered International attention – The weightlifter had traveled to the Tokyo Olympics expecting to compete, but he was later told that he had not qualified for the games!
And then reportedly went missing when he disappeared from the Ugandan Olympic team’s training camp in Izumisano, in Osaka, Japan.
Days later, he was found and arrested by police in Japan’s Mie Prefecture, deported back to Uganda, detained for some days before he was released.
Ssekitoleko will not be in Mauritius with team Uganda, and he was also left out as Uganda competed at the Senior World Weighlifting Championship in TashKent Uzebekistan last year in December.
But while flagging off a team of five to Mauritius to compete in the International Senior World Qualification event for Birmingham, National Council of Sports Assistant General Secretary David Katende said that Ssekitoleko isnt serving any ban from government but his fate remains in his hands and the Weightlifting Federation.
“Government has never given ssekitoleko an official punishement, I dont know where you’re getting your information. UOC Displinary Committee released a report about Ssekitoleko which has to be implemented gradually before he returns,” David Katende, NCS assistant General Secretary said.
“Government commits to support all qualification events, we have hopes in this team we have assembled and we think they can make it to Birmngham.”
The international senior World Qualification event for Birmingham will be held in Mauritius due February 24th – 29th.
A team of five athletes will be captained by Hakim Ssempereza 73kgs category (Kasubi Physic), Nyioita Davis 55kgs (Kisugu Unified), Zubairi Kubo 96Kgs Category (Kisugu Unified), Baligeya Godfrey 109+ and Irene Prossy Nyanga 85+ both from Black Monsters in Jinja.
It should be noted that Uganda was last represented in the 2018 Commonwealth games by four athletes ie Julius Ssekitoleko, Hakim Ssempereza, Irene Kasubo and Zubairi Kubo but they all failed to progress to the Preliminaries.
