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▪️They are understood to have quietly left the Games Village when officials were busy watching the Commonwealth Games semi-finals on Friday, July 31
August 1, 2026
Three Ugandan boxers have vanished from their Games Village in Glasgow, Scotland, in a suspected pre-planned escape for “greener pastures.”
Welterweight star Emily Nakalema, alongside teammates Nuhu Batte and Ibrahim Kemis, reportedly slipped away on July 31, 2026.
Sources indicate the trio acted on a coordinated strategy with a UK-based contact. While Batte managed to secure his travel documents, Nakalema and Kemis left theirs behind—a move suspected to be a calculated tactic to delay repatriation, or due to restricted access.
The three took part in the Commonwealth Games boxing tournament with Emily, a gold medallist at the 2025 Africa Zone Three in Nairobi and bronze medalist in the 2023 Africa Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon, losing to Australia’s Eve Bryson in the quarter-finals.
Batte, one of the most impressive Ugandan boxers in Glasgow, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by England welterweight Patris Mughalzai while Kemis lost in the round of 32 to Zambia’s Albert Ngulube in the lightweight class.
This incident highlights a deeper, systemic issue of African athletes fleeing economic hardship back home. It mirrors a dramatic 2024 episode in Italy during the Olympic qualifiers, where Ugandan boxers Joshua Takamuhebwa and Yusuf Nkobeza reportedly threatened to physically assault their coach to reclaim their passports before vanishing. Takamuhebwa is now believed to be living in the Netherlands.
The sport has long been used as a vehicle for asylum. Notable past defections include Uganda’s 2017 African welterweight champion Muzamir Kakande going missing during the World Championships in Hamburg.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, several African boxers stayed behind to pursue pro boxing careers.
