The High Court is today set to deliver judgment in one of Uganda’s most shocking criminal cases in recent years.
Christopher Okello Onyum, 38, stands accused of killing four toddlers at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Programme in an attack that stunned the country and left a community in mourning.
After three weeks of hearing evidence in a marathon and rare mobile court session in the community, the trial has reached its defining moment. Presiding judge Alice Komuhangi Khaukha is expected to determine whether the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt or whether Okello’s defence of insanity holds.
The case has drawn unusual public and State interest, with reports that President Museveni ordered the decision to have proceedings conducted within the community where the killings allegedly occurred, an approach aimed at allowing residents to witness justice first-hand. Okello faces four counts of murder, accused of unlawfully killing Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Ignatius Sseruyange, and Ryan Odeke, on April 2.
If convicted, he faces the maximum sentence of death by hanging. On Monday night, three court assessors in their joint layman’s opinion advised the court to convict Okello because the prosecution had proved its case against him beyond reasonable doubt.
During the trial, the prosecution presented 18 witnesses, building a case anchored on forensic, digital, and eyewitness evidence. Among the key elements were DNA findings linking Okello to the handle of the killer weapon (the kitchen knife), CCTV footage tracking his movements before the incident, and call data placing him at the scene.
In his defence, Okello denied intentional wrongdoing, insisting he was suffering from mental illness at the time and could not form the intent to kill. He called two witnesses, including his brother, who, in his testimony last week, said Okello was once at Butabika hospital for about eight months, treating mental illness. Okello has since implored the court to acquit him on grounds of insanity.