crime 19 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Bunga Landlord Testifies Ggaba Suspect Was Friendly with Neighborhood Children
Paul Mukasa, landlord of Christopher Okello Onyum—the suspect in the Ggaba kindergarten toddler murders—told the court that the accused was sociable with neighbors and often interacted affectionately with local children during his brief tenancy. The witness described Okello as rational and noted his mother was his only visitor. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/bunga-landlord-says-ggaba-killings-suspect-liked-children-5429518
During the trial of Christopher Okello Onyum, accused of killing four toddlers at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Programme, Bunga landlord Paul Mukasa testified last Thursday before Judge Alice Komuhangi Khaukha.
Mukasa, a 43-year-old shoe seller at Owino market, rented Okello a house in Bunga in November 2025 for Shs150,000 monthly plus Shs20,000 for electricity. Okello paid one month’s rent upfront in cash, then settled the balance for three months within a week, declining a receipt.
Okello stayed until mid-March 2026, when he vacated without notice. Mukasa portrayed him as a ‘good person’ who greeted neighbors and frequently touched or exchanged pleasantries with children, though they didn’t understand his language.
He occasionally left clothes or plates for a neighbor’s housemaid to wash, tipping her. Okello fetched water from the communal tap and showed no irrational behavior. His mother visited three times briefly; no other guests came.
Under cross-examination, Mukasa confirmed living nearby, leaving for work around midday and returning by 4pm, with Okello departing earlier. He lacked rental proof or psychiatric expertise.
The judge clarified Okello paid for three months but stayed into the fourth before disappearing. Mukasa had directed him to introduce himself to the local chairman, which Okello claimed to do, though his job remained unknown.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)