A Ugandan judge sentenced Christopher Okello to death on Thursday, April 30, after rejecting his insanity plea for the killing of four children in a machete attack at a nursery school in Wakiso, a suburb of Kampala. The April 2 assault at the Gaba Early Childhood Development Program prompted President Yoweri Museveni to order an accelerated trial through a “mobile court” — an open-air tent session that allowed hundreds of bereaved residents and other onlookers to watch the proceedings.
A crowd gathered in the tent erupted in cheers when the judge ruled that Okello, 38, should “suffer death” for the killings, according to the Associated Press. The judge stated that the defendant “failed to adduce any evidence to support this claim that he was not mentally okay” when he committed the crimes.
The death sentence, however, was handed down amid sharp criticism from the Uganda Law Society, which described the trial as “a judicial lynching rally.” The lawyers’ group pointed to concerns about the defendant’s mental health, noting that he appeared nervous and at times laughed without provocation during the hearings. In Uganda, death sentences are rarely carried out, and many people condemned to death have spent years behind bars.
Witnesses gave accounts of how Okello, posing as a parent, gained entry to the school, briefly spoke with administrators, then locked the gate before attacking the children. The killings devastated the East African nation and led to the fast-tracked proceedings, which the judiciary defended as highlighting its “commitment to taking justice closer to the people through innovative approaches.”
The case drew international attention because of the speed of the trial and the public nature of the mobile court, raising broader questions about whether the defendant received a fair hearing. Legal observers noted that the combination of presidential pressure for a quick verdict and a venue filled with emotional onlookers created extraordinary circumstances for a capital case, even as the community sought closure for a horrific crime.