Kampala, Uganda: The High Court sitting in Ggaba on Monday heard a harrowing account of how the man accused of killing four toddlers allegedly deceived staff at a daycare centre by posing as a Good Samaritan before launching a brutal knife attack.
Prosecution Witness Six, Phoebe Namutebi, a caretaker at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre, testified in court, recounting her first interaction with the accused, Christopher Okello Onyum, and the events leading up to the April 2 killings.
Namutebi told court that she first met the suspect on April 1 at around 11am when he approached the daycare gate seeking admission for a child.
“That gentleman came to our daycare centre and stood outside the gate,” she said, adding, “He told me he had been directed there because we take care of children.”
According to her testimony, the man said he wanted to enrol a three-year-old child who had difficulty speaking and interacting with others. Namutebi explained that the centre only admitted children below three years and directed him to a nearby nursery section.
“He asked about the requirements and how he could pay. I told him payment is made at the office, and we could also accept mobile money,” she told court.
The suspect reportedly left but returned the following day at about the same time. “He came back and said he had come to finalise what we had discussed,” she said.
This time, he carried a child’s bag and was allowed into the premises. Namutebi escorted him to the centre coordinator, Annet Odong, where he repeated his earlier explanation, adding that he was assisting a child whose mother had been abandoned.
Court heard that after confirming the fees, the suspect calculated the amount before paying Shs195,000 via mobile money. A receipt was issued in the name Zuriel Onyum, which he personally dictated.
Moments later, the situation turned violent.
Namutebi said she had just returned a receipt book to the office when she glanced through a window and noticed the accused bending over a child. “I thought he was beating the child,” she said. “But when I rushed there, I found one child lying in a pool of blood.”
She told court the suspect was armed with a knife and quickly moved to attack another child. “He was so quick in what he was doing… I saw him grab another child and put them down. I understood he was going to kill another child,” she recounted.
In an attempt to intervene, Namutebi said she threw children’s bicycles at the attacker and raised an alarm, but he turned and pursued her. “I was running and shouting, but I fell three times. At one point, I thought he was going to kill me,” she testified.
She added that the attacker did not utter any words during the assault but appeared agitated and was breathing heavily as he moved between the children.
Other staff members were initially unaware of the unfolding attack, as they were occupied with routine duties within the facility.
The suspect was eventually overpowered by men who responded to the alarm, including a worker identified as Bukenya. He was disarmed and confined in a security room to shield him from an angry crowd that had begun to gather.
Namutebi further told court that two additional knives were recovered from the suspect’s socks, while the weapon used in the attack had been thrown outside the fence.
She also recounted her attempt to rescue one of the victims. “I carried Keisha, hoping to save her, but by the time I reached the gate, her neck had dropped. She had died,” she said.
The bodies of the children were later taken to a medical facility, where their deaths were confirmed.
Okello pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder before Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha during Monday’s mobile court session held in Ggaba, where the killings occurred. The hearing of the landmark case, resumes on Wednesday for Namutebi’s cross-examination as the prosecution continues to present its case.
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