President Yoweri Museveni has urged Uganda’s judiciary to expedite an appeal by a man sentenced to death for killing four children at a daycare centre in Kampala, questioning why the case has not yet been heard.
Museveni said authorities should ensure the public can see that justice had been carried out after the trial of Christopher Okello Onyum, who was convicted of murdering four children at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre in April.
“Why don’t you people show the people that justice has been done?” Museveni said, according to remarks delivered on Sunday.
He questioned why Onyum’s appeal had not been heard after the trial was moved to Ggaba under Uganda’s newly introduced mobile court system.
“If he has appealed, why don’t you go and have the appeal heard there, where it was held?” Museveni said.
Onyum was sentenced to death by the High Court on April 30 after being convicted of four counts of murder. The victims were toddlers killed during an attack at the daycare centre on April 2.
The trial was conducted at Ggaba Community Church after Museveni directed the Judiciary to use a mobile court and hold proceedings close to the scene of the killings. The move was intended to allow the local community to follow the case but drew criticism from legal professionals who raised concerns about judicial independence and fair-trial safeguards.
Onyum appealed against both his conviction and sentence. In his memorandum of appeal filed in June, he argued that the trial judge had failed to properly evaluate the evidence and medical evidence relating to his mental condition. He also argued that the death sentence was excessive.
The appeal has yet to be heard by the Court of Appeal, according to court records cited by Ugandan media.
Museveni’s comments renew pressure on the judiciary to move quickly in a case that generated widespread public anger and became a test of Uganda’s mobile-court system.
The Court of Appeal will determine whether the conviction and sentence should stand, be changed or be overturned.
