A Ugandan weightlifter who absconded from his Olympic training camp and broke COVID-19-prevention rules apologized to Japan but said his actions stemmed from sheer desperation to help his family back home.

In an Aug. 8 online interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Julius Ssekitoleko, 21, said he feels sorry for what he did to Japan.

He also said he is thankful that the Japanese government and Japanese people were nice to him.

Others also showed kindness to Ssekitoleko during his run that took him to Nagoya, Gifu Prefecture and Mie Prefecture, where he was caught by police on July 20.

Ssekitoleko arrived in Japan on June 19 as a member of the Ugandan Olympic delegation.

He was staying in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, for a pre-Olympic training camp. But the team in mid-July notified that he would not enter the Olympic competition, so he was scheduled to depart Japan on July 20.

On July 16, he slipped out of a hotel in the city, leaving a note in his room that said he would not return to Uganda because life is tough there, and that he wants to work in Japan.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, athletes staying in Japan for the Games were banned from traveling, in principle, except for shuttling between their accommodation facilities and competition venues.

Ssekitoleko’s disappearance caused a major disruption and raised serious concerns over the “Olympic bubble” that was intended to prevent transmissions of the novel coronavirus between athletes and the public.

Ssekitoleko told The Asahi Shimbun that he headed for Nagoya first because he had heard that Toyota Motor Corp. was headquartered in the area and thought he could find work with the automaker.

But most of his money was spent on trains to get to the city in central Japan.

He said he survived on bananas, donuts and water that he took from the Izumisano hotel.

After roaming around JR Nagoya Station, he approached a man who also happened to be from Uganda, Ssekitoleko said.

He did not tell his compatriot that he came to Japan as a member of the Ugandan Olympic delegation. He just said that he was looking for a job and a place to sleep.

The man invited Ssekitoleko to his place, a few hours away by car, he said.

Ssekitoleko said he spent the night there.

The following day, the man drove his guest to a meeting with a Pakistani man who had said he could arrange work for him. But because Ssekitoleko did not have his passport, the Pakistani man said he could not hire him.

Ssekitoleko had no place to go, so he stayed inside a vehicle that apparently belonged to the Pakistani.

Police later showed up, he said.

OLYMPIC DREAM DASHED

Ssekitoleko said he had worked as a taxi driver in Uganda to make ends meet while training for the Tokyo Olympics.

Earlier this year, he sold a work-related motorbike to buy supplements and painkillers.

His wife recently became pregnant.

Ssekitoleko said that a good showing at the Tokyo Olympics would have enabled him to receive monetary benefits from the government and get out of his financial trouble.

So he was shocked when the delegation told him that he would not compete in the Olympics.

He said he had done his best and felt that he lost everything.

He also said the decision to drop him from the Olympic team caused him so much stress that he left the hotel without taking his passport.

Police handed Ssekitoleko to the Embassy of Uganda in Tokyo. He later departed from Narita International Airport.

Ssekitoleko was immediately taken by authorities after landing in Uganda on July 23 and charged with attempted fraud concerning monetary benefits for Olympians. But he was released on July 28, Ugandan media reported.

According to the World Bank, Uganda is one of the poorest nations, with a gross domestic product per capita of $817 (90,000 yen) in 2020.

The unemployment rate was 2.4 percent that year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the economy, forcing many companies to shut down or release workers.

Ssekitoleko has returned to his family in Kampala and resumed training.

He said he will continue weightlifting while searching for a job to support his family.