crime 21 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Ggaba Toddler Killings: Psychiatrist Testifies Okello's Family Had No Mental Illness History
In the High Court trial of Christopher Okello Onyum for the murder of four toddlers at Ggaba kindergarten, psychiatrist Dr. Rogers Agenda testified that the suspect's family reported no history of mental illness during a 2025 sanity assessment. The doctor confirmed Okello was mentally fit at the time but noted it was a one-time evaluation. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/ggaba-killings-okello-s-family-never-had-a-history-of-mental-illness-psychiatric-doctor-tells-court-5431462
The murder trial of Christopher Okello Onyum, accused of killing four children at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Center on April 7, 2026, progressed in the High Court before Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha.
Dr. Rogers Agenda, a 41-year-old psychiatrist at C-Care Clinic, International Hospital Kampala (IHK), provided key testimony. He assessed Okello in December 2025 for a sanity report required by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Ugandan citizenship.
During the psychiatric interview, Okello, then 38 and living in Bunga, denied personal mental health issues like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, hallucinations, drug use beyond occasional alcohol, or trauma. He disclosed sickle cell disease but no family history of mental illness, being the third of four children with living parents.
Agenda’s mental state examination found Okello calm, well-nourished, coherent, with logical thoughts, normal mood, and no perceptual or cognitive disturbances. He concluded Okello was sane and fit to live and work in Uganda, signing the report on December 30, 2025.
The court admitted the sanity report, a police verification request from April 9, 2026, and IHK’s response confirming its authenticity.
Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Richard Kumbuga, Agenda admitted no blood tests for alcohol or substances were done, family history relied solely on Okello’s word without verification, and the assessment was a single visit. He could not comment on Okello’s mental state after December 2025.
Agenda noted sickle cell as a risk factor, not direct cause, for mental illness.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)