CHRISTOPHER OKELLO ONYUM FATE: Museveni Blasts Judiciary

President Yoweri Museveni has questioned the Judiciary over the fate of Christopher Okello Onyum, the man convicted and sentenced to death for murdering four toddlers at a daycare centre in Ggaba, Kampala.

Museveni questioned why the case appeared to have stalled after the accused was tried and convicted.

The case began on April 2, 2026, when four toddlers at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre, operated by Ggaba Community Church, were brutally killed.

The victims were identified as Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Ignatius Sseruyange and Ryan Odeke. They were all under three years old.

According to evidence presented during the trial, Onyum entered the daycare centre and attacked the children with a knife before he was arrested. The killings triggered nationwide outrage, with the public demanding swift justice for the young victims.

Onyum was subsequently charged with four counts of murder and pleaded not guilty.

His trial became one of the most unusual criminal proceedings in Uganda’s recent history after the High Court was moved to the neighbourhood where the killings had taken place.

A temporary courtroom was established at Ggaba Community Church, with the proceedings held in public under a mobile court arrangement. Hundreds of residents, journalists and relatives of the victims followed the hearings as prosecutors presented evidence against Onyum.

The trial also attracted intense public attention because of its speed and location, with the Judiciary seeking to bring the proceedings closer to the community affected by the murders.

On April 30, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha found Onyum guilty on all four murder counts and sentenced him to death.

The judge rejected his defence that he had suffered from a mental condition that affected his criminal responsibility, finding that the prosecution had proved the murder charges beyond reasonable doubt.

But the conviction did not bring the case to a complete end.

Onyum subsequently appealed both his conviction and death sentence before the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial court had failed to properly evaluate the evidence and had wrongly rejected his claim concerning his mental state. The appeal remains pending.

It is against that background that Museveni has now questioned the status of the case and demanded an explanation from the Judiciary.

“You remember the other boy who killed children in Kansanga,” recalled Museveni while addressing an NRM party caucus last week.

“I begged the system ‘you go and try this boy there.’ They went and tried him there but up to now, the case has disappeared.”

The President then questioned why the appeal process could not be handled at the same place where the original proceedings had taken place.

“If he appealed why don’t you go and have the appeal heard there where it was held [the place where the crime was committed and the trial conducted]?”

Museveni said the Judiciary should make the outcome of the case clear to the public.

“Why don’t you people [in the judiciary] show the people that justice has been done?” Museveni asked.

The President’s remarks come as the physical site of the killings is also being transformed.

The Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre is set to be demolished and replaced with a modern one-storey building before the facility resumes operations.

Pastor Stephen Ssentimba of Ggaba Community Church announced the decision during an 8:00am Sunday service at Watoto Church in Kampala.

Kampala Capital City Authority has already received plans for the rebuilding of the kindergarten.

The rebuilding comes as the criminal case moves through the appellate process, leaving the fate of Onyum dependent on the outcome of his appeal against the conviction and death sentence.

You can read about the three things Museveni can do to Okello Onyum after his conviction, and about the last time he threatened to hang death row inmates as he asked for their list Here and There.