{"id":1166,"date":"2026-04-13T12:53:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?p=1166"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:53:21","slug":"ggaba-preschool-murder-trial-okello-denies-killing-4-toddlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?p=1166","title":{"rendered":"Ggaba Preschool Murder Trial: Okello Denies Killing 4 Toddlers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The High Court in Kampala has commenced hearing of a high-profile murder case against <strong>Christopher Okello Onyum, 38<\/strong>, who has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder arising from the killing of four toddlers at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proceedings, now being conducted through a <strong>community court session in Ggaba<\/strong>, have drawn significant public attention, with residents and affected families closely following the case that shocked the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Please find the YouTube Link for the High Court Mobile Court Session in Ggaba, Uganda Vs Christopher Okello <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sPdHuxGyRH\">https:\/\/t.co\/sPdHuxGyRH<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Judiciary Uganda (@JudiciaryUG) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JudiciaryUG\/status\/2043593971406930426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Tragedy That Rocked Ggaba<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The charges against Okello stem from the events of <strong>April 2, 2026<\/strong>, when he allegedly attacked children at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre in Makindye Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prosecution states that the accused <strong>gained access to the facility by posing as a parent<\/strong> seeking to enroll a child. After reportedly paying fees to staff, he is said to have turned violent, attacking toddlers who were at the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four children, <strong>Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth, Ignatius Sseruyange, and Ryan Odeke<\/strong>, lost their lives in the incident, which has since been described as one of the most disturbing crimes involving children in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arrest and Public Outrage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Okello was arrested shortly after the incident, following intervention by staff and security personnel at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The killings sparked anger among residents, with some attempting to attack the suspect before security forces intervened. The incident also raised urgent concerns about <strong>safety standards and access control in childcare centres<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>From Magistrate\u2019s Court to High Court<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following his arrest, Okello was presented before the <strong>Makindye Chief Magistrate\u2019s Court<\/strong>, where he was formally charged and remanded to Luzira Prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case was later committed to the <strong>High Court<\/strong>, as required for capital offences such as murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a move aimed at improving access to justice, authorities directed that the trial be conducted within the Ggaba community through a mobile court arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Guilty Plea Sets Stage for Trial<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the latest court sitting, Okello denied all four charges read against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His plea paves the way for a full trial, during which the prosecution is expected to present <strong>forensic evidence, witness testimony, and investigative findings<\/strong> linking him to the killings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defence will have the opportunity to challenge the evidence as the court determines whether the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">UPDATE: Christopher Okello Onyum has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering four children at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre. The public court sitting is ongoing at the Ggaba Community Church grounds.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MonitorUpdates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MonitorUpdates<\/a><br>\ud83d\udcf8: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/abubakerlubowa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@abubakerlubowa<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8TOo8PVkgn\">pic.twitter.com\/8TOo8PVkgn<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DailyMonitor\/status\/2043604910126551055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Investigations and Evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Investigators have indicated that they assembled substantial evidence, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Witness accounts from daycare staff and first responders<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Forensic analysis, CCTV footage and medical reports<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Circumstantial evidence regarding the suspect\u2019s movements prior to the attack<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities have also examined the suspect\u2019s background as part of broader inquiries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Community Seeks Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trial continues to unfold under intense public scrutiny, with families of the victims demanding justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Residents in Ggaba, still grappling with the trauma of the incident, have welcomed the decision to hold proceedings within the community, saying it brings transparency and accountability closer to those affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Lies Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The court is expected to hear a series of witnesses in the coming sessions as the prosecution builds its case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If convicted, Okello faces severe penalties under Ugandan law, including <strong>life imprisonment or the death penalty<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The High Court in Kampala has commenced hearing of a high-profile murder case against Christopher Okello Onyum, 38, who has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder arising from the killing of four toddlers at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre earlier this month. The proceedings, now being conducted through a community court session [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[312,309,302,306,308,304,311,313,303,305,307,310],"class_list":["post-1166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-child-death","tag-child-killings","tag-christopher-okello","tag-criminal-trial","tag-ggaba-preschool","tag-kampala-high-court","tag-murder-charges","tag-not-guilty-plea","tag-okello-murder-trial","tag-preschool-incident","tag-toddler-murders","tag-uganda-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"full":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello.jpg",1012,643,false]},"categories_names":{"27":{"name":"News","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?cat=27"}},"tags_names":{"312":{"name":"child death","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=child-death"},"309":{"name":"child killings","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=child-killings"},"302":{"name":"Christopher Okello","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=christopher-okello"},"306":{"name":"criminal trial","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=criminal-trial"},"308":{"name":"Ggaba Preschool","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=ggaba-preschool"},"304":{"name":"Kampala High Court","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=kampala-high-court"},"311":{"name":"murder charges","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=murder-charges"},"313":{"name":"not guilty plea","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=not-guilty-plea"},"303":{"name":"Okello murder trial","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=okello-murder-trial"},"305":{"name":"preschool incident","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=preschool-incident"},"307":{"name":"toddler murders","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=toddler-murders"},"310":{"name":"Uganda news","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=uganda-news"}},"comments_number":"0","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"cvmm-medium":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"cvmm-medium-plus":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-305x207.jpg",305,207,true],"cvmm-portrait":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-400x600.jpg",400,600,true],"cvmm-medium-square":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-600x600.jpg",600,600,true],"cvmm-large":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello.jpg",1012,643,false],"cvmm-small":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello-130x95.jpg",130,95,true],"full":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Okello.jpg",1012,643,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1168,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions\/1168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}