The chef de mission for Uganda's Commonwealth Games team says he has "absolutely no idea" why four boxers went missing in Scotland. Angel Katushabe, Nuhu Batte, Ibrahim Khemis and Emily Nakalema failed to join teammates for their return flight to East Africa on Tuesday, August 4.
Boxers' whereabouts unknown
Their current whereabouts are unknown, and all four have turned off their phones. According to the African website NBS Sport, one of the missing boxers told the publication that the athletes intend to seek asylum and continue their boxing careers in Scotland.
Godwin Kayangwe, Uganda's chef de mission, believes the athletes are still in Glasgow or elsewhere in Europe. He said he had no idea what type of asylum they would be seeking.
Camp rules broken
"I don't know anything about why they decided not to fly home but I know they communicated with their team manager and said they would be coming back," he told BBC Scotland. "But after that their phones went off, so they have definitely broken the camp rules because no athlete is supposed to leave without permission."
He added: "Their visas are still valid until October so hopefully, probably, they will come back to their country. I have totally no idea, absolutely no idea what type of asylum they would be seeking. It's nothing political, it's nothing to do with gender or something [like that] - I have absolutely no idea why they would be doing that."
Appeal to return
Kayangwe implored the missing athletes to return to Uganda. "My message is pretty clear, observe the law and make sure the visa does not expire while you are still here. Come back to Uganda and they can probably come back to Europe whenever they want," he said.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games ended in Glasgow on Sunday, July 2. The event saw around 3,000 athletes from 74 nations take part.
Previous incidents
Two Ugandan rugby sevens players, Benon Kizza and Philip Pariyo, also went missing after Glasgow 2014. They later claimed asylum and moved to Cardiff before joining a local rugby team. Members of Team Uganda also failed to return after the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police Scotland has received reports of several athletes who are unaccounted for. Enquiries are ongoing to assess the circumstances, and early engagement is taking place with the Home Office."
