Commonwealth Games 2022 delegates from Ghana, Botswana, Cameroon go ‘missing’

More athletes and officials from international athletics teams have gone missing after the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmngham.

The latest missing reports are from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ghana, Botswana, and Cameroon, said a Ghanian media house - ModernGhana. A delegate each from Ghana, Cameroon and Botswana are reportedly missing.

The West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “We’ve received a total of 17 missing people reports from visiting Commonwealth Games delegations – 13 competitors and four other delegation members. Of those, nine have since been found and eight remain outstanding. We’re making enquiries alongside immigration officials to ensure they are safe and well.”

“Of the eight still missing, five are Sri Lankan, two Pakistani and one Ghanaian (the latter was a delegation member, not a competitor).”

Earlier, BirminghamWorld reported that 12 Sri Lanka delegates were missing and two athletes from Pakistan have gone AWOL.

Ghana won five medals in the Commonwealth Games, Botswana won two and Ghana won three.

The Commonwealth Games ended on 8 August and delegates were expected to leave the same week. However, some athletes and other members from the contingents went missing prior to that. Around 10 Sri Lankan team members went missing the week before the Games were to end. Just like Sri Lanka, the African nations also face some form of conflict or political unstability in their home countries.

Ghana has been facing an economic crisis after strict lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Cameroon has been conflict-hit for several years between different factions of the society and while Botswana is one of the most politically stable democracies in Africa, it has been ruled by a single party since independence.

In 2018, two athletes from Ghana went missing in Gold Coast. As many as 20 athletes and delegates from various countries had gone missing from the 2018 Games. Eight Cameroonians, five Ugandas, two from Sierra Leone and a Kenyan, Rwandan and Tanzanian all went AWOL, reported InsidetheGames.

The current athletes and delegates have the right to remain in the UK for six months until their visa expires.

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