Court to decide fate of six accused in Soroti pupil murder case
The ruling comes after the prosecution closed its case, having presented nine witnesses during a week-long hearing before Justice Boniface Wamala.
Suzan Vivian Ariokot, the wife of Joseph Okedi, that a witness accused of killing the child using a cutter knife. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)
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SOROTI CITY — The High Court in Soroti is expected to rule today, Tuesday, August 4, on whether six people charged with the murder of five-year-old Joan Faith Apio have a case to answer.
The ruling comes after the prosecution closed its case, having presented nine witnesses during a week-long hearing before Justice Boniface Wamala.
The accused are Joseph Okedi, 43, the director of Jozan Nursery and Primary School; his wife, Suzan Vivian Ariokot, 38; Police Constable John Bosco Obotol, 34, attached to Crime Intelligence at Soroti City East Division Police Station and a younger brother to Okedi; James Edoket, 32, the school's head teacher; Valentin Opio, 37, the school cook; and Osula Adong, the school matron.
The prosecution alleges that on February 5, 2025, at Jozan Nursery and Primary School in Soroti City East Division, the six accused, with malice aforethought, unlawfully caused the death of Apio, a five-year-old Primary One pupil.
During the hearing, the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from child witnesses, medical evidence, forensic experts and exhibits recovered from the scene.
One of the key witnesses, a 14-year-old child, testified that she allegedly saw Ariokot kill the child after Apio had spent only two days as a boarding pupil at the school.
The child gave an emotional account, telling the court that Ariokot allegedly sent her to the school canteen to buy a green cutter knife, which she claimed was later used in the killing.
According to the witness, Ariokot had instructed her to bring one of the twins to her while she was waiting at the toilet, which is located behind the classrooms.
"Ariokot called me inside the toilet where Apio's body was lying after her throat had been cut. She then instructed me to go to the school canteen to buy another green cutter knife, which she used to continue cutting the body," the child witness testified.
Her testimony corroborated the account of the lead police investigator, Inspector of Police (IP) Geoffrey Onume, who informed the court that the cutter knife had been recovered inside the school toilet. He also tendered the suspected murder weapon before the court.
The witness further alleged that Ariokot removed body parts through the child's throat, placed them in a black polythene bag and handed the bag to Obotol, who was allegedly waiting outside the toilet.
The child also told the court that Ariokot warned her never to reveal what she had witnessed, allegedly threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident.
The testimony appeared to align with medical evidence presented on Monday by police surgeon Dr Bernabas Rubanza.
Dr Rubanza told the court that the postmortem examination revealed that four key muscles involved in swallowing were missing from Apio's body.
He further testified that the trachea (windpipe), which carries air to the lungs, and the oesophagus, which transports food to the stomach, had also been severed.
The court also heard emotional testimony from the deceased's mother, Ange Everline Akol, who said she had initially been informed that her daughter had suddenly fallen ill at school and had been rushed to hospital.
Instead, she said, she arrived only to learn that her daughter had died.
"I am not stable up to now, my Lord. Whenever I remember how my daughter lay there with a deep cut on her throat, I cannot hold back my tears," Akol told the court.
She added that the tragedy continues to affect the family, particularly Joan's surviving twin sister, Faith Acen.
"The surviving twin is mentally disturbed. She can spend three hours without saying a word. When you call her, she simply looks at you as tears roll down her cheeks. Sometimes she tells me, 'Mummy, I am missing Apio. Could you make for me another Apio?'"
Earlier in the trial, crime officer Emmanuel Ekebu, attached to Soroti East Division Police Station, presented several exhibits recovered during investigations, including a five-litre yellow jerrycan that investigators allege was used to wash the child's body inside the school toilet where it was found.
Ekebu also tendered photographs of a pair of green slippers recovered from the toilet, which were identified in court as those worn by the deceased. A suspected murder weapon was also tendered before the court.
Justice Wamala is expected to determine today whether the prosecution has established a prima facie case requiring the accused to be placed on their defence or whether they should be acquitted at this stage of the trial.
Obotol is being represented by Magomu Muminu, while the other five are being represented by Francis Ajum and Joseph Odong. The prosecution team declined to be named.