Shock has gripped residents of Ggaba, an upscale suburb of Uganda’s capital Kampala, after a man gained access to a daycare centre and killed four toddlers with a sharp object.
Some of the residents said the man gained access to the daycare centre and stabbed the children aged between two and three years under unclear circumstances.
Police are yet to establish the motive of the attack.
“We confirm a tragic incident at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program School, in Makindye Division Kampala City where a male suspect brutally stabbed and killed four juveniles. The suspect has been apprehended, and the motive behind the killings is still under investigation,” Kampala Metropolitan spokesperson, Racheal Kawala said in a statement on X.
Christopher Okello Onyu who is currently in custody at Kabalagala Police Station in Makindye Division, Kampala, is said to visited the school two days earlier seeking to have his child admitted at the daycare centre.
“He was told to return today (April 2). After having an engagement with the school administrator, reportedly paid the admission for the child. It’s from there that he stormed the class and stabbed four children. They died on the spot,” Ms Kawala said.
Teachers quickly raised the alarm, prompting the suspect to attempt an escape. However, he was apprehended by a security guard from the nearby Ggaba Community Church.
Moments later, angry residents flooded the area, attempting to lynch the suspect. Police intervened, rescued him, and bundled him onto a police pickup truck.
The centre that was established about two years ago is said to have had about 14 children attending class at the time of the attack.
“We have taken the bodies of the deceased to the city mortuary and handed over the other 10 kids to their parents,” Ms Kawala added.
Uganda’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abas Byakagaba, the police director of operations AIGP Frank Mwesigwa and other senior officers visited the scene following reports of the attack.
“We call upon anyone with information about the suspect to give to police to aid in investigations,” Mr Byakagaba said as he addressed journalists at the scene.
