Christopher Onyum Okello, the man sentenced to death for the murder of four toddlers at a daycare centre in Ggaba, has formally started the process of challenging both his conviction and sentence.
Okello, who continues to maintain his innocence, filed a notice of intention to appeal through the Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS) while at Luzira Upper Prison.
The appeal, registered as case number 288 of 2026, seeks to overturn both the guilty verdict and the death sentence handed to him by the High Court.
His appeal comes only days after a mobile session of the High Court sitting in Ggaba convicted him over the killing of four children at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre on April 2.
Following the ruling, Okello was transferred to the condemned section of Luzira Upper Prison, becoming the 93rd inmate on Uganda’s death row. Uganda Prisons Service says two of the inmates on death row are women.
Uganda Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine confirmed that Okello had already begun the appeal process, explaining that under Ugandan law, every death sentence issued by the High Court automatically proceeds through higher courts before execution can happen.
According to Baine, a convicted person first appeals to the Court of Appeal. If the sentence is upheld, the matter can then be taken to the Supreme Court for a final decision.
“Because the process is that when the High Court sentences a person to death, then an appeal is made to the Court of Appeal,” Baine said.
He explained that courts usually provide timelines ranging between 14 and 30 days for filing appeals, although appeals filed outside that period may still be accepted if sufficient reasons are provided.
“Now from the Court of Appeal there must be another appeal to the Supreme Court, so when the Supreme Court agrees with the subordinate courts, then there will be one position, the prerogative of mercy,” he added.
If both appellate courts uphold the sentence, the final decision would rest with President Yoweri Museveni under what is known as the prerogative of mercy. The President must sign a death warrant before any execution can legally take place.
Despite maintaining facilities for condemned prisoners, Uganda has not carried out an execution in more than 26 years.
The last executions were conducted in April 1999, and no death warrant has been signed by President Museveni since then.
