FOUR TINY ANGELS SLAUGHTERED IN THE NURSERY: THE DAYCARE MONSTER NOW FACES THE HANGMAN IN UGANDA.

On April 2, 2026, Christopher Okello Onyum, a 38-year-old dual citizen of Uganda and the United States, was sentenced to death for the murder of four toddlers at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program in Kampala.

Court records show that Onyum gained access to the daycare by posing as a parent seeking admission information. After briefly speaking with staff at the administration office, he entered a classroom where 14 young children were present.

He then launched a knife attack, fatally stabbing four toddlers identified as Eteku Gideon, Keisha Agenorwoth, Sseruyange Ignatius, and Odeke Ryan, all aged between one and two years. Several other children were left traumatized in the incident.

A staff member who witnessed the attack gave a harrowing testimony in court, describing what she encountered inside the classroom:

“He got up and had a knife in his hand. He was so quick that he immediately grabbed another child.”

She further told the court how she attempted to intervene and rescue the children:

“I picked up one of the children’s bicycles and threw it at him. When I threw the bicycle, he let go of the child and started chasing me. I ran, but later fell. When I got up, I realised he had cut the second child.”

She also described discovering one of the victims after the attack:

“I found one of the children lying in a pool of blood.”

Following the incident, angry residents attempted to lynch the suspect as he tried to flee, but security personnel from the area subdued him before police arrived. Officers reportedly fired warning shots to disperse the crowd and secure the scene.

The trial was held in a special open-air court session at Ggaba to allow public observation due to the severity of the case. Onyum initially confessed, claiming the killings were linked to ritual sacrifice beliefs aimed at gaining wealth, before later retracting and pleading insanity, saying he lacked mental capacity at the time.

Despite his defence, the prosecution presented CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts, forensic evidence, and digital records linking him to the crime. Presiding judge Justice Alice Komuhangi Khauka ruled that he was mentally sound during the attack.

On April 30, 2026, the High Court found him guilty on four counts of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging, concluding a case that shocked Uganda and the wider region.