The High Court in Soroti has convicted three people over the murder of Joan Faith Apio, a five-year-old Primary One pupil of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, who was killed and dumped in a pit latrine in February 2025.
Justice Boniface Wamala, the resident judge, convicted Ms Suzan Vivian Ariokot Okedi, Mr Joseph Okedi, the school director, and Mr John Bosco Obotol, a detective police constable attached to Madera Police Post, after finding that the prosecution had proved their participation in the murder.
The court, however, acquitted three other accused persons-Mr James Edoket, the head teacher of the nursery section, Mr Valentine Opio, the school cook, and Ms Osula Apio, a canteen attendant and school matron-after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove their participation in the offence.
Apio, a twin and daughter of Ms Angela Evelyn Akol, had reported to Jozan Nursery and Primary School with her sister before she was killed on February 5, 2025, only three days after starting school.
In his judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Wamala said the prosecution had proved all the ingredients of murder against Ms Ariokot, Mr Okedi and Mr Obotol.
‘In all therefore, prosecution has proved all the ingredients of the offence of murder against A1, A2 and A4 … I find A1, A2 and A4 guilty of the offence and I convict each one accordingly,’ Justice Wamala ruled.
He said the prosecution had failed to prove the participation of the other three accused persons.
Evidence
The court heard that Ms Ariokot was linked to the crime through evidence from two juvenile witnesses whose identities were withheld for their safety.
According to the judgment, the witnesses linked Ms Ariokot to the incident and told the court that she sent for the deceased and instructed one of them to obtain a cutter knife, which was later used in the killing.
The prosecution further relied on a postmortem report, which showed that Apio died from a deep cut to the neck inflicted by a sharp object. The report also indicated that some body tissue was missing.
The court also considered evidence placing Mr Obotol near the scene of the crime.
Prosecution evidence indicated that he was seen standing about two metres behind the school pit latrine, outside the school fence, at the time of the incident.
The court heard that a black polythene bag containing body tissue was handed to him before he fled the scene.
Ms Ariokot had denied the charge, and had claimed that she was at Pride Bank’s Soroti branch processing a loan when the incident occurred.
She further claimed that she later returned to her shop, where she was ironing wedding gowns, before receiving a telephone call from her husband informing her about the incident.
Justice Wamala rejected the explanation, saying CCTV footage showed that she was at the bank between 4:54 pm and 5:03 pm, while her claim of being at the shop was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
School director convicted
Although Mr Okedi did not directly participate in the assault, Justice Wamala found that he was involved in the planning of the murder.
The judge noted that a cutter knife used in the killing was not included on the school canteen shopping list but was added and brought to the school on the same day.
‘A1 (Ariokot) sent PW1, a juvenile and her daughter, to buy the cutter knife which was later used for committing an offence,’ Justice Wamala said.
The judge also found that Mr Okedi gave police a false account about an alleged attempted murder involving Apio’s twin sister, Achen.
According to the court, he knowingly transported the deceased to hospital after her death while pretending that she was still alive.
The trio is expected to be sentenced on Friday after the court considers the circumstances of the offence and their mitigation.
Murder attracts the severest punishment of death by hanging on conviction.