Four months before Christopher Okello Oyum hacked to death four infants at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Programme, he went to see a psychiatrist. The date of the visit was December 30, 2025, and it was at his volition. He requested the specialist to assess his mental health and furnish him with the sanity report to be submitted to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Okello told the doctor that he was 38 years old, single and a Christian by religion. He further told the doctor that he was a self-employed commercial farmer and a resident of Bunga in Kampala.
The specialist carried out a psychiatric interview, which involved asking Okello open-ended questions to establish whether he had any mental disorders. The doctor noted that Okello did not report any history of excessive sadness or loss of interest in pleasurable activities. Okello had no history of excessive happiness or increased goal-directed activity. He had no history of alcohol abuse or substance use, although he occasionally consumed alcohol. He, further, had no history of excessive fears or worries and had never had a seizure. He denied having a history of any traumatic experience and told the doctor that he slept well.
Okello further told the doctor that this was his first visit to a mental health specialist and that he had never been on any psychiatric medication. He, however, was a known patient of Sickle Cell Disease for which he regularly took his medications. He had no other chronic medical conditions. He said he was the third born of four children and that both his parents were well and alive. He denied any known history of mental illness in the family.
To the doctor, Okello was a middle-aged man who appeared to be his stated age, was well nourished and well kempt. He looked calm and was able to maintain reasonable eye contact. The doctor noted that Okello spoke normally and his speech was coherent and fluent. According to the doctor, Okello’s thoughts were logical, and he had no preoccupations or overvalued ideas. He had a euthymic mood congruent with his affect and had no perceptual or cognitive impairment. The doctor reported that he did not observe any odd behaviour throughout the interview. He concluded that Okello had no established mental disorder and that he was sane and mentally fit to live and work in Uganda.
Information obtained from the American Embassy in Uganda confirmed that Okello was, indeed, an American citizen and that he had no known criminal charge in the US. The Embassy also stated that it had no information related to his mental health. It was observed that if Okello had any mental disorder, the American government would have been aware of it and would not have issued him a driver’s license.
A police psychiatrist, who examined Okello on April 7, five days after he hacked the infants to death, noted that Okello had a history of a previous admission to Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital. The psychiatrist said Okello exhibited normal behaviour, was calm and cooperative, and his speech was coherent. The doctor noted that his memory was intact and he exhibited good judgment. His thought process and content were normal, although he believed in obtaining wealth through human sacrifice. He was able to explain to the doctor the reason for killing the infants as fortune hunting or enrichment. He got the idea when he recalled childhood folktales of getting wealth by sacrificing people.
There is no doubt that the murders that Okello committed had the hallmarks of crimes of insanity. Insanity is a broad term with medical, legal and colloquial definitions. Generally, it refers to a severely disordered state of the mind or extreme, unreasonable foolishness. Health care professionals prefer specific diagnostic terms such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis.
The killings were senseless and for no apparent reason. He acted alone, and his planning of the killings was clumsy, to say the least. The evidence trail he left in the wake of the killings was obvious. He showed no remorse at the time of his arrest and at his trial, during which he was often seen chuckling. That Okello has a mental health disorder is not in doubt. What may be in doubt is whether he was adequately and appropriately evaluated and what the actual psychiatric diagnosis is.
Psychopathy or psychopathic personality is a recently recognised mental disorder and is characterised by impaired empathy and remorse, persistent antisocial behaviour, along with bold, disinhibited and egocentric traits. The psychopath has an inclination to violence and psychological manipulation, impulsivity and narcissism. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to stress, which create an outward appearance of normality.
The term psychopath is used to describe someone who is callous, unemotional, and morally depraved. Although not an official mental health diagnosis, it is often used in clinical and legal settings to refer to someone who is often egocentric, antisocial, lacking remorse and empathy for others, and often has criminal tendencies.
A psychopath is an individual who exhibits a specific set of personality traits characterised by persistent antisocial behaviour, impaired empathy, and a lack of remorse. Psychopathy is not a formal diagnosis but is closely associated with the psychiatric diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Psychopaths often lack empathy and are manipulative and narcissistic. Although not all psychopaths are violent, many can be linked to criminal behaviour. Not all psychopaths are violent criminals. Some use their traits, such as fearlessness, charm, and high stress tolerance, to excel in leadership roles in business and politics
The disorder is characterised by glibness and superficial charm, a lack of remorse or guilt, a shallow emotional response and a profound lack of empathy for others. The disorder is also characterised by impulsivity, a constant need for stimulation and a parasitic lifestyle. The psychopath has poor behavioural controls, early childhood behavioural problems and criminal versatility.
Many psychopathic characteristics overlap with symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, a broader mental health condition used to describe people who chronically act out and break societal rules. However, a small number of individuals with antisocial personality disorder are considered psychopaths.
Research suggests that psychopathy stems from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The brain imaging often shows reduced activity in the areas in the brain responsible for emotion, decision-making and impulse control. Early life trauma, such as abuse or neglect, can influence how these genetic predispositions manifest.