Jean Paul Nsengiyumva reportedly went missing
One member of Rwanda’s delegation at the on-going Commonwealth Games currently underway in Australia has gone missing.
Jean Paul Nsengiyumva, the head coach of Powerlifting has not been sighted since competition in Carrara on Tuesday night, with his whereabouts unknown to his team and police, according to Rwanda’s Chef de Mission Eugene Nzabanterura .
Speaking to KT Sports from Gold Coast on Thursday, Nzabanterura said, “From last Tuesday, one of our coaches, Jean Paul Nsengiyumva (Powerlifting) went missing just some minutes before the end of his athlete competition.
“It’s very sad, he disappointed us,” he said. “For the rest of the group, they are okay, they are in a good mood,” he added.
According to Nzabanterura, “Up to now we don’t know where he is but we have declared him to the police and the administration of GOLDOC and we are still searching for him.”
Nsengiyumva has joined the list of athletes and nations that have gracefully tarnished the name of Rwanda and Africa at large.They include; eight Cameroon athletes, two Ugandans and potentially one Ghanaian.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told media that African athletes and officials missing from the Commonwealth Games have been warned they’ll be hunted down and deported for “taking the mickey” out of Australia.
Home Affairs Minster Peter Dutton said that all missing athletes and officials will be shown scant sympathy when caught.
“The compliance officers will be out there, I promise, tracking these people down and they’ll be deported as quickly as possible,” Mr Dutton said in an interview on Macquarie Radio on Thursday.
“These people and others that might have a similar objective need to hear this message very clearly: They aren’t going to game the system.”
The minister said the people on the missing list were “taking the mickey”, noting their Games visas were valid until only May 15.
Mr Dutton said the Border Force would test any case in any of the missing athletes or officials claimed protection status, Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie said the athletes’ visas allowed them to spend time enjoying Australia but they should return to their home country as scheduled.
“We encourage people to get a visa, come here and compete, stay a little while after, spend some money in this country, and then go home, and that is our position,” Mr Beattie said on ABC Radio.
The 2018 Games are currently underway in the Gold Coast in the Australian State of Queensland. They are expected to conclude on Sunday April 15.
More than 4,500 athletes from 71 countries will take part during the course of the games, which began on April 5, competing for a total of 275 gold medals.
