Court orders hospital, bank to release CCTV footage in Joan Apio murder trial
While testifying under oath, Ariokot maintained that she was not at the school on the day the child was killed. Instead, she told court that she spent part of the day at her shop in town and at Pride Bank processing a top-up loan of sh50 million.
Suzan Vivian Arikot drinks her fourth bottle of water while testifying in the trial over the murder of Apio. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)
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The High Court in Soroti has ordered Soroti Regional Referral Hospital and Pride Bank's Soroti branch to release CCTV footage recorded on February 5, 2025, to be used as evidence in the ongoing murder trial of five-year-old Joan Faith Apio, a former pupil of Jozan Nursery and Primary School.
Justice Boniface Wamala issued the orders on August 5, 2026, after two of the accused persons, Joseph Okedi, the school proprietor, and his wife Suzan Vivian Ariokot, informed court that the footage would support their defence.
The couple is jointly charged with the murder of Apio alongside four other suspects.
While testifying under oath, Ariokot maintained that she was not at the school on the day the child was killed. Instead, she told court that she spent part of the day at her shop in town and at Pride Bank processing a top-up loan of sh50 million.
"I left my home in Opiro, opened my shop on Gweri Road and later carried out a transaction at Pride Bank," Ariokot testified.
She further told court that her shop is fitted with CCTV cameras that could also confirm her whereabouts on the material day. Ariokot asked the court to order police to release her three mobile phones, saying one of them was connected to the shop's surveillance system and would enable her to retrieve the footage.
Ariokot denied any involvement in the child's murder, insisting that she neither participated in the crime nor regularly operated at the school despite being a co-director.
The judge also ordered Soroti Regional Referral Hospital to retrieve CCTV footage from its Outpatient Department (OPD) after Okedi argued it would support his defence.
Okedi disputed prosecution evidence that he told hospital staff the child had been involved in an accident when he rushed her to the facility.
During the prosecution case, a bread vendor who testified as a state witness told court she saw Okedi drive into the OPD while repeatedly shouting, "Accident, accident."
Okedi, however, denied making the statement and asked the court to obtain the hospital's CCTV footage to establish what transpired upon his arrival.
During cross-examination, Okedi admitted that he broke open the school toilet where Joan's body was later found, despite initially denying doing so. He also confirmed that he instructed school matron Osula Adongo to carry the child.
"I rushed the child to the hospital to save her life. When I arrived, the nurse told me to first report to police. While there, I received a call from head teacher James Edoket informing me that the child had been pronounced dead," Okedi told court.
Okedi also admitted purchasing the cutter knife that prosecutors allege was used in the murder, although he denied any involvement in the killing.
The trial continues today, Thursday, August 6, with the defence of the remaining four accused persons: John Bosco Obotol, a police detective; James Edoket, the school head teacher; Valentine Opio, the school cook; and Osula Adongo, the school matron.
During Wednesday's proceedings, Ariokot appeared in a maroon dress, wearing a rosary and a necklace bearing the image of the Virgin Mary. She frequently drank water while giving her testimony, finishing four bottles.
Okedi, dressed in a T-shirt and wearing a wristband branded "Jozan", told court that after learning of the child's death, his blood sugar levels rose sharply and he broke down.
The trial is being conducted with the assistance of two court assessors, Proscovia Acheko and Lawrence Erwaku, who will give their opinions before Justice Wamala delivers his final judgment.