Olympic Moments

The Olympic Torch for the Ugandan portion of the Torch Relay was created by our friends at Mugavoo Furniture

Participation in the Olympics is a source of national pride for Uganda.

Sadly, Uganda's initial notoriety was not for their athletic prowess.

Over the past several weeks, athletes and delegations from around the world began arriving in Tokyo. The first positive COVID case of the games was from a member of the Ugandan delegation. In fact, two members of the delegation (21 athletes and dozens of coaches and their government minders and various hangers-on) tested positive upon arrival. Interestingly, you must have a negative COVID test less than 72 hours before departure before even being allowed into the Entebbe airport for a departing flight. This raises many questions about test accuracy, false/forged results, etc.

Then one of the Ugandan athletes, weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko, disappeared during his time in Japan. Although he did not ultimately qualify for the games (some events do final qualifications on-site), he failed to show up for a team event. When officials checked his room, they found a note indicating that he didn’t want to return to Uganda because life is so difficult there. The escapee/refugee/defector/vacationer asked that all of his possessions be sent to his wife, who remained in Uganda.

The authorities eventually caught up with Mr. Ssekitoleko a few days later at the home of a Ugandan friend several hours away. He has been “reunited” with the team and was returned to Uganda a few days ago.

On a more happy note...

The craftsmen and artisans who have been slowly furnishing our apartment, recently completed a much more newsworthy commission -- they designed and crafted the Olympic Torch that was run through Uganda during the international Torch Relay. Every part of the torch is rich in national meaning from the flag colors, to the blue glass representing the Nile river and bits of ivory signifying the 135 districts in the country. The Mugavoo team was thrilled to be awarded the contract and see their work in team promotional videos (featured below). Given their creative workmanship, we were not surprised at their selection for this significant honor.