The High Court has heard testimony from three additional prosecution witnesses, all police officers, in the trial of Christopher Okello Onyum, who is accused of murdering four children on April 2, 2026, at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre.
The latest testimonies bring the total number of prosecution witnesses so far to 15, as the state continues to build its case against the accused.
CCTV analyst Emmanuel Odong presented detailed surveillance evidence in court, reconstructing the movements of the accused on April 1 and 2. Odong told court that footage obtained from various cameras captured the vehicle used by the accused, specific timestamps, and the route taken.
According to the analysis, the accused was tracked moving from Kyanja through Nakawa, the Electoral Commission area and Kibuli, before proceeding to Ggaba.
The footage, which was played in court, showed how the accused was dressed, the backbag he carried, and his movements on both days.
Odong testified that the accused was seen parking his vehicle at Renewal Sacco Parking Yard, stepping out, and walking towards the scene where the murders occurred. He said the entire sequence—from arrival to departure—took approximately 12 minutes. Before exiting the parking premises, the accused was seen checking the tyre of a car and later exited using a minor road.
On April 2, the accused was again captured on camera along Nanjala Road, this time riding a motorcycle. He was seen wearing black goggles and carrying a backbag. Odong said the footage showed the accused heading towards the scene at 10:16am. At 11:20am, the victims were rushed to Wentz Medical Centre.
The court also heard from Scene of Crime Officer Mutaka Jim, attached to Kabalagala Police Station, who testified that he visited the scene at around 11:30am on the day of the incident following instructions from his superiors.
He told court that he found a hostile crowd of residents who were attempting to lynch the suspect. At the scene, he documented the area, drew a sketch plan and compiled a report regarding the incident.
Mutaka said he recovered a knife believed to have been used in the attack, which had been thrown outside the gate, noting that it measured about four centimetres long. He also recovered blood-stained sunglasses and two additional knives were recovered from his body.
However, he informed court that he did not lift fingerprints from the knives because their surfaces were too rough to allow for fingerprint recovery.
He further testified that a bag recovered from the suspect by Police Officer Derrick Brian Muyima was handed over to him for examination. Upon searching the bag, he found several items including pliers, a gold padlock with keys, a tablet, 15 surgical blades, a black piece of a shoe brush, a black smartphone with an MTN line, and one pair of orange hand gloves.
Other items in the bag included a payment receipt from Ggaba Community Church bearing the name “Zereal Anyum.”
Another prosecution witness, Detective James Eserait from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), told court that upon reaching the scene the found the accused arrested by the school guards. They picked him, placed onto a police vehicle and transported to Kabalagala Police Station.
Eserait testified that the accused had visible bruises on his arms, around the mouth and on the forehead.
The accused reportedly told him that the injuries were inflicted by residents who assaulted him before police intervened.
The detective further revealed that during his interaction with the accused, he allegedly admitted to having purchased several knives in preparation for what he described as a mission.
Court also heard that on April 3, police conducted a search at the accused’s residence located on Namugera Close in Katumba Zone LC1, Kyanja. During the search, officers recovered two United States passports bearing the names of Christopher Okello Onyum. One passport is set to expire in 2030, while the other has a later expiry date.
Other items recovered from the residence included three flash disks, two Dell laptops, two mobile phones, and six knives—five black and one grey. All the knives were presented before court and admitted as exhibits.
Additional documents recovered and tendered in court included a sanity report dated December 30, 2025, a certificate of good conduct issued on November 28, 2025, in the names of the accused by the Director of Interpol and International Relations, AIGP Joseph Obwana, a driving permit issued in Virginia, USA, expiring on July 21, 2031, and a voter notification notice from the United States.
The detective revealed during his interaction with the accused, he apologised and acknowledged the seriousness of the charges against him, stating that he was aware his actions could lead to imprisonment. He also told Court that the accused said that upon seeing a crowd gathering at the scene, he called the police emergency line 112.
The hearing of the case has been adjourned to tomorrow for continuation.
