Thursday, 30 April 2025 – Christopher Okello Onyum, the man accused of brutally murdering four toddlers at a daycare centre in Uganda, has been sentenced to death by the High Court.

In a landmark public trial conducted under a fast-tracked hearing process, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha convicted Okello Onyum on all four counts of murder and imposed the maximum sentence prescribed by law.

Timeline of the Ggaba Murder Case of Four Toddlers
On the morning of Thursday, 02 April 2026, at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre (a nursery and daycare school) in Ggaba Trading Zone, Ggaba Parish, Makindye Division, Kampala District, Uganda, four toddlers aged under 3 years were killed in a machete attack. The victims were identified as Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Ignatius Sseruyange, and Rayan Odeke.

According to court records, Christopher Okello Onyum (also referred to as Okello Oyam or Okello Onyum in some records) gained access to the school by posing as a parent interested in enrolling a child. He reportedly paid UGX 180,000 before carrying out the attack.

He was arrested the same day near the scene after allegedly calling the police emergency number 112 seeking protection from a hostile crowd.

First Court Appearance
Okello Onyum first appeared before Grade One Magistrate Idah Nanjala at Makindye Chief Magistrates Court on 07 April 2026, where he was formally charged with four counts of murder. The court later committed the case to the High Court for trial.

High Court Mobile Trial
Following a presidential directive for a public hearing close to the crime scene, the High Court trial opened on 13 April 2026 at a temporary tent court set up at the Ggaba Community Church grounds.

Presided over by Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha, Okello Onyum, a resident linked to Kyanja in Nakawa Division, denied the charges and told the court that he was suffering from mental illness at the time of the offence.

Final Ruling
Following days of court sessions involving witnesses, police officers, a police surgeon, and eyewitnesses, the High Court at Ggaba mobile court session delivered its final ruling on Thursday afternoon on 30 April 2026, when Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha found Christopher Okello Onyum guilty of murder and sentenced him to death for each of the four counts involving Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Ignatius Sseruyange, and Rayan Odeke.

The judge also informed the convict of his right to appeal the decision within 14 days.