Experts who examined Ggaba accused murderer Okello testify in court

________________________
 GGABA MURDER TRIAL 

By Joseph Kizza
________________________

As the trial of Christopher Okello Onyum unfolds by the day, the keenly following world keeps getting more details about a previously unknown man now accused of murdering four toddlers in Uganda's capital Kampala.

The latest testimonies in court on Friday provided snapshots of his mental state in recent and past months, as recounted by two medical experts who interacted with him within the past four months.

Through 41-year-old Dr Rogers Agenda, a psychiatrist working with C-Care IHK, the public was introduced to a different dimension of Okello: this time a man who was pursuing Ugandan citizenship and therefore needed a medical sanity report as one of the requisite documents.

Having been referred by the internal affairs ministry, Okello became Agenda's client for processing of this useful report.

The medical doctor with four years of psychiatry experience went on to conduct a psychiatric interview on him on December 30, 2025, and then a mental state examination.

Typically, the end-goal of a psychiatric interview is for the expert to work out if their client has any mental disorder.

▪️ Court hears details about where Ggaba murder suspect lived

"I noted that Mr Onyum Christopher was a 38-year-old male residing in Bunga. He told me that he was single, not married and a Christian. And at that time, he had a plan to settle in Uganda and start commercial farming," Agenda (pictured above) told the mobile High Court on the fourth day of the trial at Ggaba Community Church in Makindye division.

"Mr Onyum Christopher told me he had no history of having excessive sadness, no history of loss of interest in pleasurable activities, no history of excessive fears or worries, no history of excessive happiness and no history of loss of interest in goal-oriented activities."

So why were the questions leading to this important? the state attorney inquired.

"They help us to establish various mental disorders, if any," responded the doctor, who holds a master's degree (Medicine in Psychiatry from Makerere University).

For instance, a history of excessive sadness or loss of interest in pleasurable activities could point to depression.

A past of excessive fears or worries could be linked to anxiety disorder.

Then excessive happiness or loss of interest in goal-oriented activities could be a sign of bipolar affective disorder.

▪️ 'He charged at me with a knife but I ducked for cover'

Index psychiatric visit

In his interview, Agenda probed for signs of hallucinations from his client, and found that Okello had no history of "hearing voices or seeing things other people could not see".

Neither had he ever used illicit drugs like cannabis or had any traumatic experience before, both of which meant no substance use disorder nor post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), respectively.

The prosecution witness told court that Okello had revealed to him it was his first ever visit to a mental health personnel and that he had never taken any psychiatric medication.

The medication he was taking regularly though was for a chronic medical condition: sickle cell disease.

"He told me he was the third-born of four children and that his parents are alive and well. He also told me that there was no history of any mental illness in his family," testified Agenda.

▪️ Prosecution witness gives chilling account of fateful day

'Sane and mentally fit'

Once done with the interview, the doctor moved on to a mental state examination.

"From this examination, I noted that Mr Onyum Christopher was a middle-aged man, he looked kempt and was well nourished — that is, physically, he looked healthy and never appeared sick. He was calm, he kept eye contact and he had no odd behaviour of any sort."

So why was this important for observation? the state probed.

"Odd behaviours help us to know if a client could be acting under the influence: probably hearing voices or seeing things others couldn't see," Agenda told court, also noting that Okello's speech at the time was coherent and of normal rate, volume and tone. 

"His thoughts were logical, with no preoccupations, no overvalued ideas and no delusions. He had euthymic [normal] mood, congruent with affect. He had no perceptual and cognitive disturbances."

With all that in mind, the doctor concluded that Okello had no established mental disorder. 

"I, therefore, affirmed that time that Mr Onyum Christopher was sane and mentally fit to live and work in Uganda. I then signed off the report and it was stamped with the date: December 30, 2025."

▪️ Ggaba murder suspect pleads not guilty to all four counts

Police request

A little over three months after that encounter, on April 9, C-Care IHK received a formal request from the Police as regards an exhibit. Four young children had been brutally murdered at Ggaba Early Childhood Comprehensive Programme Centre on April 2. 

The man in Police custody accused of committing the crime was one Agenda was familiar with: Okello. And one of the documents he had been found in possession of at the time of his arrest was a medical sanity report bearing the doctor's signature.

The Police, therefore, wanted the hospital administration to verify that the report was actually authored by Agenda so that they would use the information to support investigations at Ggaba. The hospital administrators then reached the medical doctor, after which he verified that indeed he had written the document himself.

As per protocol, the hospital's chief executive officer, Azhar Sundoo, formally wrote back to the Police via a letter confirming that the medical sanity report had been issued by C-Care IHK and authored by Agenda in his capacity as a medical practitioner at the health facility.

In court on Friday, the medical sanity report and the CEO forwarding letter were admitted as exhibits and the Police request letter as PID (production for identification).

Meanwhile, on April 7, Dr Emmanuel Nuwamanya (pictured below), a 52-year-old medical doctor who works as a Police surgeon, was tasked with examining the man arrested as the prime suspect in the Ggaba murders.

The request originated from Ggaba Police Station under the case file CRD026/2026.

'Okello had bruises'

With a quarter-of-a-century of medical practice under his belt, Nuwamanya duly conducted the examination.

"I found him [Okello] to be 39 years old. He had injuries," he testified in court as one of several prosecution witnesses.

The suspect had abrasions on the right side of the forehead (1cm by 0.5cm), bruises above the right eye (1.5cm by 1cm), bruises on the left side of the abdomen (4cm by 2cm) and more bruises on the right side of the abdomen (2cm by 1cm). He also had bruises across the back (8cm by 3cm). 

"The injuries were due to blunt force. They were dry and healing about three to four days," added the Nsambya-based doctor, who is also the deputy director of Police Health Services.

Nuwamanya holds two degrees key in this context: Master of Medicine in Psychiatry from Makerere University and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

'Fortune hunting and enrichment'

After the physical exam, he moved on to a mental examination.

"He [Okello] had normal behaviour. He was calm and cooperative. His speech was coherent, his memory intact and he exhibited good judgment. His thought process and content was normal," the doctor told court.

And then the bombshell.

"But he [Okello] believed in wealth by human sacrifice," Nuwamanya testified further.

"He was able to explain the reasons for killing the children as fortune hunting and enrichment: he got the idea from recalling childhood folk tales of getting wealth by sacrificing people."

The doctor told court what more the suspect had revealed to him.

"He had a history of past mental illness treated between 2016 to 2025, which was associated with both auditory and visual hallucinations: that he had killed his two to three-year-old brother in the year 2016 to 2017, reportedly to save him from troubles of his world. He also attempted suicide in 2023."

'No medical documents'

Nuwamanya noted that those findings were suggestive of a mental condition with psychotic episodes.

Okello also reportedly revealed to the Police surgeon that he was suffering from sickle cell disease and was on treatment for it. 

Importantly, the doctor told court that although the findings from Okello's account were suggestive of a mental condition with psychotic episodes, he could not verify the said information. 

And why was that? the state attorney asked.

"The only source of information was Mr Okello himself and he had no medical documents," responded Nuwamanya.

'Stable mental state'

The state attorney asked Nuwamanya whether he had been in position to verify the information provided by Okello. And how the availability of medical documents would have affected the mental health assessment that he had made?

The doctor responded that the availability of medical documents to support what Okello had said would have stated whether his condition had been cured and he had discharged as a functional person.

"I assessed that he was in a stable mental state at that time."

And was the reason that he reportedly gave for killing the children (of fortune hunting and enrichment) have been influenced by any mental state, as per the doctor's assessment?

"No, because when I assessed him, he was not undergoing symptoms that influence the killing of the children."

During cross-examination, the defense team posed a question to Nuwamanya: What do you look out for when examining the mental state of patients?

"I assess the bahaviour and appearance of my patient. I also assess their thought process, their speech content and their judgment and cognition in general," he responded.

About Okello's alleged suicidal thoughts in 2023, the defense attorney asked: Didn't you find it necessary to refer him to Butabika Hospital?

"That was in the far past but that time when I examined him, he didn't have those symptoms."

Then more probing from Team Defense: Can someone with a mental challenge be able to do certain things when they are in a normal functional state? For instance, driving or entering agreements like land transactions?

"Yes," responded the Police surgeon.

Later, during cross-examination, the defendant's lawyers also worked to pin prosecution witness Dr Agenda.

He was asked whether sickle cell disease (which the accused is suffering from) is a risk factor leading to mental illness?

"Yes, my Lord," he replied.

Presiding judge Alice Komuhangi Khaukha, too, weighed in on this, seeking an explanation from the medical doctor on the relationship between sickle cell disease and mental health.

"When someone has sickle cell disease, they can get multiple complications. Some of these complications can include a stroke. Some strokes can manifest with psychiatric symptoms. Sometimes, the medications they use, the painkillers, especially in high doses, can also lead to manifestations or symptoms of mental illness," he explained.

"Sometimes, because of the chronic pain, they [patients] can be distressed by the so much pain. They get into a sense of helplessness and may consider possibly taking their own lives or develop depression." 

Agenda was keen to say that while he did not observe any of the above signs during his examination of Okello in December 2025, the fact that he is still alive means those complications can still occur.

Meanwhile, the next prosecution witness needed to use the giant screen to deliver their testimony, but the heavy afternoon rain proved disruptive. The judge, therefore, called it a day and adjourned the hearing until Monday next week. 

She further remanded the accused, who has pleaded not guilty to all the four charges of murder against him. The young victims were: Gideon Eteku, Keisha Agenorwoth, Ignatius Sseruyange and Ryan Odeke.