Four Ugandan Boxers Missing After Commonwealth Games, Seek Asylum
Four Ugandan boxers have gone missing after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with reports indicating they intend to seek asylum rather than return home.
According to talkSPORT, the missing athletes are Angel Katushabe, Nuhu Batte, Ibrahim Khemis and Emily Nakalema.
NBS Sports reported that the quartet failed to join the rest of the national team for their scheduled journey back to Uganda.
Speaking anonymously to NBS Sports, one of the missing boxers said the group had decided to seek asylum. The athletes explained that they wanted to continue their boxing careers in a country with better training facilities and greater opportunities. They also appealed to Ugandans for understanding and urged the public not to judge their decision.
Ugandan officials have launched efforts to locate the four athletes, while the Ministry of Education and Sports is expected to issue a statement on the incident.
The latest case follows a pattern involving Ugandan athletes at previous Commonwealth Games. At least six competitors did not return home after the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast in Australia. A similar incident occurred after the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, when rugby sevens players Benon Kizza and Philip Pariyo disappeared before later claiming asylum. The pair eventually settled in Cardiff, where they joined a local rugby club.
On the sporting front, Katushabe, Batte and Nakalema were all eliminated in the quarter‑finals of their respective boxing events, while Khemis exited in the preliminary rounds. The other Ugandan boxers who returned with the team, Alfred Ojok and Aziz Abdul, also failed to progress beyond the quarter‑finals. Abdul, the grandson of former Ugandan ruler Idi Amin, was disqualified from his last‑eight contest against England’s eventual heavyweight gold medallist Damar Thomas after being penalised for a deliberate headbutt.
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