Uganda school stabbing kills 4 children, authorities release more details

Thursday April 2, 2026

A quiet morning at a Kampala preschool turned tragic on Thursday after a stabbing attack left four toddlers dead at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program School in Uganda’s capital, police said.

Ugandan authorities said a suspect, identified as Okello Christopher Onyu, was arrested after allegedly entering the school and killing four children.

Rachael Kawala, the spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Police, told reporters at the scene that the suspect had come to the school two days earlier to seek admission for his child. “He was told to come back today. It is said he even paid the admission fee of his child and after that, he started stabbing the children,” she said.

Kawala said the bodies of the four children had been moved to the mortuary. “We are going to interrogate him to get the motive of attacking this day care center,” she added.

Inspector General of Police Abbas Byakagaba visited the scene earlier in the day and called on the public to stay calm while sharing any information that could help investigators.

Witnesses said the suspect ran from the school after the attack and headed to a nearby community, where an angry mob cornered him and tried to lynch him.

Police and military officers fired shots into the air to break up the crowd before taking the suspect into custody and transporting him away in a police truck.