A man was sentenced to death on Thursday over the murder of four young children he stabbed to death at a kindergarten.
On the attack day, he had posed as a parent to gain entry to the nursery school, then locked the gate and commited the crime in less than seven minutes.
An angry crowd of parents attempted to lynch him before a security guard subdued him, police said.
The court heard Onyum had searched “schools near me” and “ISIS beheadings” on his mobile phone and laptop in advance of the killings, which the judge said indicated clear preparation for the attack.
During the trial, prosecutors presented strong evidence including DNA linking him to the knife, CCTV footage tracking his movements, call data placing him at the scene, and eyewitness accounts from daycare staff.
According to prosecutors, Onyum, who holds Ugandan and US citizenship, confessed to the crime, believing that the “human sacrifice” would help him become rich, although he eventually pleaded not guilty in court.
The judge, Justice Alice Komuhangi Khauka ruled he was “very sane” at the time of the attack. She rejected a claim of insanity, saying the “accurate and precise manner” of the killings made it clear it was pre-planned.
“He targeted them in their defenceless state and went ahead to slaughter them like animals… and had no fear, no shame, no consideration for human life,” she intimated.
“I have also considered that the convict has not shown any remorse at all, because I would have at least expected an apology from him to the families of the babies.
“The court heard that Onyum had searched online for Islamic State beheadings and local schools with young children.
But it was not clear if there was any political or religious motivation for the attack.The court earlier heard chilling testimony, including from a staff member at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre.
“At first I thought he was beating a child.
“When I asked him why he was beating our children, before he responded I saw Kaisha (one of the victims) against a wall in the pool of blood,” she told the court at the start of the trial.
“He got up and he had a knife in his hand. He was so quick that he immediately grabbed another child.”
“I got one of the bicycles the children used. I threw it at him. When I threw the bicycle at him he left the child and started running after me. I ran but I later fell down. When I got up I found out he had cut the second child,” She said.
The victims’ parents also gave evidence, describing their last morning with their children before taking them to kindergarten, the phone call informing them of the attack and the discovery of the bodies at the hospital.
Capital punishment is legal in Uganda but rare, with the last execution carried out more than 20 years ago.
