KAMPALA, Uganda — Barely six weeks after a High Court judge condemned him to death for the brutal killing of four toddlers at a daycare centre in Ggaba, Christopher Okello Onyum has launched a new legal fight — one aimed at saving his own life.
The man whose name became synonymous with one of Uganda’s most shocking crimes is now asking the Court of Appeal to overturn both his conviction and sentence, arguing that the trial court failed to properly evaluate evidence and wrongly dismissed his claim that he was mentally ill when the children were killed.
The appeal marks the latest chapter in a case that stunned Uganda, triggered nationwide grief and outrage, and reignited debate about the country’s rarely enforced death penalty.
On April 30, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha sentenced Okello to death after finding him guilty of murdering four toddlers — Eteku Gideon, Keisha Agenorwoth Otim, Sseruyange Ignatius and Odeke Ryan — at a daycare facility in Ggaba, a lakeside suburb of Kampala. The judge described the killings as among the most exceptional crimes imaginable, placing them within the “rarest of rare” category deserving the ultimate punishment.
For many Ugandans, the verdict appeared to bring closure to a tragedy that had dominated headlines for weeks.
For Okello, however, the legal battle was far from over.
In a memorandum filed before the Court of Appeal on June 12, the condemned prisoner challenged nearly every major finding made by the trial court.
“That the Learned Judge erred in law and fact when she failed to properly evaluate the evidence before her thereby arriving at a wrong conclusion and occasioned a miscarriage of justice.”
He further argues:
“That the Learned trial Judge erred in law and fact by not properly evaluating the medical evidence regarding the mental status of the Appellant thereby arriving at a wrong decision.”
The appeal also targets the death sentence itself, which Okello describes as excessive. He is asking appellate judges to quash his convictions, set aside the sentence and order his release.
The filing has revived memories of a crime that left even seasoned investigators struggling for words.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Okello visited the daycare centre days before the attack, posing as a parent interested in enrolling a child. Prosecutors said the visit was part of a deliberate plan. On April 2, he returned to the facility, gained access and launched a deadly attack that unfolded within minutes. Four toddlers were killed before he was subdued and arrested.
The killings unleashed a wave of public anger rarely seen in recent years. Distraught parents and furious residents attempted to attack the suspect before security personnel intervened. Across social media, many demanded the harshest punishment available under Ugandan law.
The government responded with unusual speed.
Under a controversial arrangement backed by President Yoweri Museveni, a mobile court was established near the scene of the killings, allowing members of the public to follow proceedings in person. The open-air trial drew hundreds of residents, victims’ relatives, legal observers and journalists. Supporters described it as justice brought closer to the people, while critics worried it risked transforming a criminal trial into a public spectacle.
Throughout the proceedings, Okello’s defence team insisted that mental illness lay at the centre of the case.
Lawyers argued that he was suffering from psychiatric problems and could not form the criminal intent necessary for murder. The defence pointed to his behaviour and medical history as evidence that he was not fully responsible for his actions.
Justice Komuhangi rejected those arguments.
“The accused was very sane in April when committing these offences. Therefore, his defence of insanity won’t help him.”
The judge concluded that Okello’s actions before, during and after the killings demonstrated planning and awareness rather than mental incapacity. She pointed to evidence suggesting preparation for the attack and accepted the prosecution’s argument that the murders were deliberate.
Court proceedings revealed disturbing details.
Prosecutors presented testimony from numerous witnesses, forensic experts and investigators. Evidence included CCTV footage, DNA findings and digital records. Assessors who reviewed the case unanimously advised the court to convict him on all counts, concluding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Komuhangi also cited what she described as aggravating factors: the vulnerability of the victims, the calculated nature of the attack and the absence of remorse. She further stated her belief that the killings were connected to ritual sacrifice allegations that surfaced during the investigation.
Now, however, appellate judges will be asked to revisit those conclusions.
The appeal arrives against the backdrop of a long-running national debate over capital punishment.
Uganda retains the death penalty in law and courts continue to impose death sentences in exceptional murder and terrorism cases. Yet actual executions have become exceedingly rare. Human rights organizations note that Uganda has not carried out a known execution in roughly two decades, leaving many death row inmates in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
That reality has created a paradox within Uganda’s justice system.
Judges still pronounce death sentences in the country’s most serious criminal cases, but the punishment often remains suspended indefinitely. As a result, death row has become less a final destination than a legal limbo where prisoners wait years — sometimes decades — for clarity about their fate.
For families of the four children killed in Ggaba, the appeal may reopen wounds that have barely begun to heal.
Many welcomed the High Court’s sentence as a measure of justice for lives cut tragically short. The victims were all very young children entrusted to a place intended to provide care and safety. Their deaths transformed an ordinary daycare centre into a symbol of collective grief.
Now the case moves to a higher court.
The Court of Appeal is expected to set a hearing date in the coming months. There, judges will examine whether the High Court properly assessed the evidence, whether the insanity defence was correctly rejected and whether the death sentence should stand.
For Christopher Okello Onyum, the appeal represents more than a legal technicality.
It is a plea from a condemned man seeking one last chance to avoid the hangman’s noose.
And for Uganda, it is a reminder that even in cases that appear settled in the court of public opinion, the law often takes a longer, more complicated path toward final judgment.
It should be remembered that Uganda Prisons Commissioner General Byabashaija has made it clear that Christopher Okello Onyum will be hanged within 72 hours if President Museveni signs his death warrant. (See Details Here).
According to the law, if Christopher Okello Onyum’s appeal fails even in the Supreme Court, his fate will be in the president’s hands as Museveni can do three things to him, as detailed HERE and THERE.
