Ugandan-American man sentenced to death for kindergarten murders

A Ugandan-American man was sentenced to death on Thursday for the murder of four young children he stabbed at a kindergarten in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.

Christopher Okello Onyum was arrested on April 2 as he tried to flee the daycare centre. The victims were aged between 15 months and two-and-a-half years.

Prosecutors said Onyum, who holds Ugandan and US citizenship, confessed to the crime, believing the “human sacrifice” would help him become rich. He later pleaded not guilty in court.

The judge rejected a claim of insanity, saying the “accurate and precise manner” of the killings showed they were pre-planned.

“I hereby sentence him to suffer death,” the judge said in court, to cheers from the public. “He targeted them in their defenceless state and went ahead to slaughter them… and had no fear, no shame, no consideration for human life.”

The judge added that Onyum had shown no remorse, saying she would have expected at least an apology to the families.

A staff member at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre testified that she saw Onyum with a knife and threw a bicycle at him to stop the attack. He then chased her before cutting another child.

The victims’ parents also gave evidence, describing their last morning with their children before receiving the phone call informing them of the attack.

SOURCE: AFP