crime 7 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Background of Christopher Okello, Suspect in Ggaba Daycare Toddler Killings
Christopher Okello Onyum, the man accused of stabbing four toddlers to death at a Ggaba daycare centre, was born in Zambia to Ugandan parents and spent parts of his life in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and the US before returning in 2016 with noticeable changes in behavior. Relatives lost track of him shortly before the April 2, 2026 attack. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/making-of-okello-man-in-ggaba-daycare-stabbing-5415238
Christopher Okello Onyum, born on June 23, 1987, at Kitwe Central Hospital in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, is the suspect behind the tragic stabbing of four toddlers at a daycare in Ggaba, Kampala. He was the third of four boys born to Olive Acakara from Kumi District and Asuman Sebayiga Onyum from Kwania District.
His parents met over 40 years ago in Nairobi during Acakara’s tailoring course. She gave birth to their first son, Charter, in Kenya while Onyum worked as an accountant. The family later moved to Uganda for Onyum’s auditor role at Code Uganda, then to Zambia for his job at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Acakara stayed in Kampala with the children before joining him, where Okello was born.
At age five, Okello started school in Lusaka. The family returned to Kampala in 1997, settling in Kisugu. He attended local nursery and primary schools, then Aga Khan Secondary School, but financial issues forced a switch to Ggaba Parents Secondary School after Senior Two. Diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia, he received treatment at Kololo Hospital.
In 2003, Onyum took the children to the US. Okello studied pharmacy briefly, then worked in taxation. He returned to Uganda in 2016, prompting relatives to note shifts in his behavior. He lived briefly at the family home in Bunga before renting in Kyanja.
From September 2025, Okello worked on a farming project in Nwoya District with Americans, commuting weekly. He stopped by February-March 2026 for unknown reasons. Despite family monitoring and pleas to stay home, he moved again. On March 26, his mother visited his Kyanja rental but missed him; neighbors said he had gone to town and later relocated untraceably.
On April 2, 2026, around 1pm, a boy named Elias informed Okello’s mother of the Ggaba daycare attack, where her son had killed four children.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)