A Ugandan man accused of fatally stabbing kindergarten children in the capital, Kampala, has been charged with quadruple murder, the state prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Christopher Okello Onyum is suspected of having gained access to a daycare centre last week by posing as a parent, before attacking children aged around two and three with a knife, killing four of them.

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

"The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has sanctioned four murder charges," reads Tuesday's statement from the state prosecutor.

Tension in court

Onyum appeared before a lower court in Kampala under tight security, with families of the victims present to follow the proceedings.

"There was tension around the court premises. There was police, the military and prison guards, all armed and some were deployed inside the courtroom," Ramathan Musoke, a witness present at the court, said.

"The moment he appeared in (the) courtroom, some people broke down and wept," Musoke added.

Onyum had no legal representation and was not allowed to respond to the charges in the magistrate's court due to jurisdictional limits.

Remanded

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

Onyum was remanded in custody until Wednesday, when a magistrate will decide how to proceed with the case.