KAMPALA
The High Court sitting in Gaba has sentenced Christopher Onyum Okello to death for the murder of four children, in a case the judge described as “the rarest of the rare.”
Presiding over the community court session in Gaba, Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi delivered the verdict after Okello failed to plead for leniency during mitigation.
Rarest of the rare
In her ruling, Justice Komuhangi noted that the minimum sentence for each count is 35 years, while the maximum is death. Sentences can be reduced based on mitigating factors raised by the convict or his lawyers, she explained.
The prosecution urged court to impose the maximum penalty. State Attorney argued that the case qualifies as the “rarest of the rare” and warned that lenient sentences have contributed to a rise in murders.
Citing Paragraph 17 of the Sentencing Guidelines, the court observed that a death sentence may be passed where a life sentence is deemed insufficient, or in cases considered the “rarest of the rare.”
Justice Komuhangi described the killings as “brutal and heinous,” saying they shocked the nation and devastated the families who lost their children.
The court found that Okello “planned and meditated this offense meticulously.” He targeted “defenseless children who entirely depended on adults for protection,” attacking them in a place they believed was safe, during broad daylight.
“If not apprehended, he would have killed more than four children,” the judge added.
No remorse shown
The court further noted that the convict showed no remorse throughout the trial. “I would have at least expected an apology to the families who lost their children, even when he saw the late Gideon’s mother collapse as she testified in court,” Justice Komuhangi said.
While Okello denied killing the children for human sacrifice, the judge said she believed that was the motive. “I would find no reason for someone to leave home to end the lives of children in their safe space,” she stated.
Message to accomplices
Agreeing with the prosecution that this was the “rarest of the rare,” Justice Komuhangi said the sentence was intended to “communicate to his colleagues whom he refused to name in court and who continue carrying out human sacrifice for riches.”
Okello was advised of his right to appeal to the Supreme Court within 14 days.
