A man has admitted stabbing four young children to death at a kindergarten in Uganda, saying he believed killing them as human sacrifices would make him wealthy, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The defendant, Christopher Okello Onyum, 39, who holds both Ugandan and American citizenship, appeared in court to have the charges formally put to him.

He is thought to have gained access to the kindergarten by posing as a parent, before attacking children with a knife, killing four of them – ranging in age from 15 months to two-and-a-half.

The attack sparked outrage in the African Great Lakes nation, with an angry crowd attempting to lynch him before his arrest.

'Human sacrifice'

The indictment read in court said Onyum "recorded a charge and caution statement wherein he confessed to killing all the deceased children."

It said a medical assessment found his thought processes were "normal", but he "believed in wealth by human sacrifice" and explained the killings as a means of "fortune hunting or enrichment."

Victims' relatives present for the hearing jeered at the defendant, who did not react.

The kindergarten catered for "vulnerable children" aged between three months and three years, the indictment said.

Suspect mentally fit to stand trial

The prosecutor's office said the evidence in the case will show "the accused had carefully planned the offence over several days before he launched a violent and sustained attack on the children within the facility."

"A medical assessment has confirmed that the accused is mentally fit to stand trial," prosecutors said.

Last week, Uganda's army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni, said: "We shall push for the death sentence for this criminal."

Onyum was remanded in custody pending his trial, for which no date has yet been set.