KAMPALA, Uganda — A High Court has found Christopher Okello Onyum guilty of the murder of four toddlers at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre, in a ruling that rejected his defence of insanity and claims of “spiritual possession”.
Delivering judgment in a mobile court session held near the crime scene, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha described the killings as deliberate and methodical, bringing to a close one of Uganda’s most disturbing criminal trials in recent years.
The court found that Okello was fully aware of his actions on April 2, 2026, when he allegedly used a sharp object to kill Ryan Odeke, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Gideon Eteku, and Ignatius Sseruyange—children all under the age of two.
Justice Komuhangi ruled that the defence had failed to provide credible psychiatric or medical evidence to support claims of mental incapacity. The court noted that Okello’s defence relied largely on an unsworn statement, which carried limited evidential value.
“The accused’s actions were calculated and deliberate. To claim insanity without a shred of medical proof, while evidence shows a man capable of complex financial planning, is a legal impossibility,” the judge observed.
A central element of the prosecution case was evidence of Okello’s financial conduct around the time of the killings. Investigators told court that he was actively managing multiple bank accounts, transacting in both Ugandan shillings and US dollars.
He was also linked to investment activities, including land leasing in Nwoya for commercial farming—details the court said were inconsistent with claims of a “mental blackout”.
Digital forensic analysis further revealed that Okello had carried out online searches relating to violent acts and daycare centres in the period leading up to the killings, which prosecutors argued pointed to premeditation.
The court agreed that such activity demonstrated cognitive awareness and planning inconsistent with legal insanity.
The prosecution, led by chief state attorney Jonathan Muwaganya, called 18 witnesses during the trial. Evidence presented included digital devices recovered from the accused, among them a flash disk containing The Art of War by Sun Tzu, alongside disturbing search history data.
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Okello had also claimed he was coerced into an earlier confession allegedly linking the killings to ritual motives for wealth acquisition. However, the court ruled that forensic and circumstantial evidence supported the prosecution’s case.
Justice Komuhangi found that the totality of evidence established guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Following the verdict, the court adjourned briefly before moving to the sentencing phase. Prosecutors are expected to push for the maximum penalty, citing the extreme vulnerability of the victims and the brutality of the offence.
Outside the mobile court, parents and residents of Ggaba remained gathered in silence and grief, many visibly shaken as they awaited the final sentence in a case that has deeply scarred the community.
The mobile court initiative, established to bring proceedings closer to affected residents, is expected to conclude with sentencing in the coming sessions.
