UK police confirm Uganda boxers unaccounted for after Commonwealth Games

Athletes from Uganda and Pakistan were reported ‘missing’ after failing to return home from 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Police in the United Kingdom have confirmed that members of the Ugandan boxing team were unaccounted for after they participated in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Police Scotland said in a statement that it had “received reports of several athletes who are unaccounted for” and that it was conducting “enquiries” and engaging with the Home Office.

About 3,000 athletes from 74 nations competed in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Scotland’s largest city, with the closing ceremony held on Sunday.

Only two members of the Ugandan boxing team of six have returned to Uganda, the president of the Uganda Boxing Federation, Moses Muhangi, told the AFP news agency in Kampala after the first athletes arrived on Tuesday evening.

Moses said those who had not returned were the team captain, Nuhu Batte, as well as one other male and two female team members.

The boxing team members who returned home included a grandson of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Aziz Abdul, who was disqualified for a headbutt in his quarterfinal.

Moses said it was “too early to say that the four boxers disappeared”, noting the athletes’ UK visas were still valid and team members were free to visit friends and family.

He said several team members were meant to return “later this week” and others at the weekend.

“It is too early to call it disappearance. Let us wait until their visas expire,” Moses said.

The chief executive of the Games, Phil Batty, on Monday told the UK’s PA Media news agency “we work really closely with Police Scotland, the Border Force and UK visas and immigration to make sure everyone arrives and departs in line with regulation.”

A Pakistani boxer was also reported to have failed to return home on schedule, according to regional media.