A Ugandan court has sentenced Christopher Okello Onyum to death for the fatal stabbing of four children at a nursery school in Kampala earlier this month. The children, aged between one and three years old, were killed on April 2 in a premeditated attack that lasted less than seven minutes.

Onyum gained entry to the school by posing as a parent, then locked the gate and carried out the assault. Police reported that an angry crowd of parents attempted to lynch him before a security guard subdued him.

The court heard that Onyum had searched for “schools near me” and “ISIS beheadings” on his phone and laptop prior to the killings, indicating clear preparation. The judge rejected his insanity plea, stating that the “accurate and precise manner” of the killings showed they were premeditated, and described the children as having been slaughtered “like animals.”

A staff member testified to discovering one child in a “pool of blood” and said Onyum attacked her when confronted. “He got up and had a knife in his hand. I picked up a bicycle and threw it at him. He let go of the child and started chasing me,” she recounted.

Onyum did not apologize to the parents, which the judge cited as evidence of a lack of remorse. Capital punishment remains legal in Uganda but is rarely enforced; the last execution took place over 20 years ago.

Source: www.aljazeera.com