 |
|
ALL EXPECTED BACK: The Uganda contingent march at
the games. They return today |
By Louis Jadwong
in Melbourne, Australia
A Tanzanian and
three Nigerian athletes reportedly joined the long list of athletes disappearing
here after the Commonwealth Games closed Sunday.
The four Africa
sportsmen yet to be named did not appear at the airport when their entourage
checked in to fly home yesterday.
Earlier, six runaway athletes from
Sierra Leones team were yesterday granted temporary visas to remain in
Australia, while Cameroon revealed that nine members of its team were
unaccounted for.
In all, 14 Sierra Leone athletes went missing from the
games village last week. Police in the northern Sydney suburb of Harbord found
six members of the team at a local home early yesterday and passed them on to
immigration officials. The three men and three women from the Sierra Leone team
are believed to have been there for the past three nights, police said.
Authorities revoked the 14 missing athletes visas as of midnight but following
interviews with immigration officials, the six who were found were granted
visas, allowing them to remain in the country until April 13. We are able to
confirm that six members of the Sierra Leone team... have been granted bridging
visas to allow them time to make visa applications, an Immigration Department
official said.
Meanwhile, the Cameroon team reported nine of its
athletes missing just two hours before the Games closing ceremony Sunday night.
Their identities were not immediately released. In addition to the
athletes from the two west African nations, Tanzanian boxer Omari Idd Kimweri
and Bangladeshi 400m runner Tawhidul Mohammad Islam were also reported missing.
The Sierra Leone government strongly condemned its runaway athletes,
saying they had brought disgrace on their nation.
It was not the first
time athletes from Sierra Leone have defected following an international
sporting event. 21 members out of a team of 30 failed to return to Sierra Leone
after the 2002 Manchester games.
At the same time, Ugandas bronze
medalist Martin Mubiru will lead the second batch of athletes expected home
today evening from the event. The first batch that had rugby players came back a
week ago.
Mubiru, a bronze medal winner at the game, is leading back
home cyclists, weightlifters, swimmers, table tennis, shooting, boxing and
badminton players.
Some swimmers and shooters were supposed to arrive
yesterday but their plane was delayed after it made a surprise landing in Perth.
Official communication said that the flight was diverted to Perth due to
passenger requirements.
The group that was on the flight will join the
contingent that arrives today in the evening. Maj. Gen (Francis Nyangweso)
called me that they had taken an impromptu landing at Perth. He said that they
had left late but they will be accommodated in Dubai as they wait for the next
flight, explained UAF treasurer Salim Musoke, who came back earlier.
Uganda got two gold medals to finish 15th overall out of the 71
competing nations. The medals were courtesy of Dorcus Inzikuru (3000m
steeplechase) and Boniface Kiprop (10000m).
The government will throw a
party at Lugogo tomorrow afternoon, ahead of Inzikurus departure for Italy in
the evening. Inzikuru arrives tomorrow afternoon with the remaining batch of
athletes and officials.
Additional reporting by Norman Katende and
agencies
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With
Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans
l'anarchie"
|
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
Ugandanet@kym.net
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
% UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
