The High Court in Kampala has sentenced Christopher Okello Onyum to death for the murder of four toddlers at a daycare centre in Ggaba.
On 2 April, Christopher Okello Onyum, 38, entered the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program and fatally stabbed the infants – Eteku Gideon, Keisha Agenorwoth, Sseruyange Ignatius and Odeke Ryan – all aged between one and two years old.
While capital punishment has not been abolished in Uganda, it is rarely carried out, with the last recorded case taking place in 2005.
Onyum, who holds both Ugandan and US citizenship, has 14 days to appeal against the sentence.
During the trial, prosecutors said he had admitted the crime and called it a “human sacrifice” that he hoped would make him rich.
However, he later pleaded not guilty, denying intentional wrongdoing.
He maintained that he was suffering from mental illness at the time of the attack and was unable to form the intent to kill, urging the court to acquit him on the grounds of insanity.
While delivering the sentence, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha described the killings as falling within the “rarest of the rare” category, warranting the maximum penalty under the law.
She noted that although Uganda’s sentencing guidelines recommend a starting point of 35 years for murder, courts have the discretion to impose harsher penalties depending on the gravity of the offence.
“The convict meticulously planned and executed this crime,” the judge ruled, adding that Okello deliberately targeted defenceless children in what should have been a safe environment.
Justice Khaukha further observed that Okello showed no remorse throughout the trial and did not offer any apology to the victims’ families.
Okello was convicted and sentenced to death on four counts of murder, relating to the deaths of Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Ignatius Sseruyange, and Ryan Odeke. He has 14 days to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.
Prosecutors, Jonathan Muwaganya and Anna Kiiza had urged the court to impose the death penalty, arguing that the murders were brutal and premeditated. The court agreed, noting that evidence presented—including expert testimony—suggested possible ritual motives behind the killings.
