Jozan murder case: Soroti High Court closes hearing
With the defence evidence now concluded, Judge Wamala has set Tuesday, August 18, for the court assessors to deliver their opinions before he proceeds to deliver the final judgment.
Suzan Vivian Ariokot and her husband Joseph Okedi in the dock during court proceedings. (Photos by Godfrey Ojore)
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The High Court in Soroti has closed the hearing of the Jozan Nursery and Primary School murder case after two-and-a-half weeks of intense proceedings.
The case is among three high-profile cases in Teso for which the High Court designated a special sitting lasting one month, from July 27 to August 28, 2026.
The other two high profile cases included the case of an Egyptian who was murdered two years ago. The court concluded it in a record one-day hearing, sentencing the two convicts to 22 years each.
The other one is of the murder of a businessman, Daniel Oseege, whose hearing is held concurrently with the Jozan case.
The Jozan case came to the limelight on February 5, 2025, after five-year-old twin pupil Joan Faith Apio was found dead inside a toilet at the school.
The adult suspects are Joseph Okedi, 43, the former director of Jozan Nursery and Primary School; his wife, Suzan Vivian Ariokot, 38; Detective Corporal John Bosco Obotol, 34, attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit at Soroti City East Division Police Station and Okedi's younger brother; James Edoket, 32, the school's headteacher in charge of the nursery section; Valentin Opio, 37, the school cook; and Osula Adongo, the school matron.
Lawyer Francis Ajum assigned by the state to represent the accused, consulting with Obotol during court proceedings. 
High Court Judge Boniface Wamala sentenced the juveniles to the period they had already spent on remand, amounting to about one-and-a-half years. They were subsequently turned into state witnesses.
On Thursday, August 13, the court received the final defence evidence from Ariokot, who presented CCTV footage from Pride Bank to support her claim that she was at the bank processing a loan top-up on the day Apio was murdered.
However, the footage showed that Ariokot spent only about seven minutes at the bank, entering at 4:54 p.m. and leaving at 5:03 p.m.
Prosecution witnesses previously told court that the murder at Jozan School occurred between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
With the defence evidence now concluded, Judge Wamala has set Tuesday, August 18, for the court assessors to deliver their opinions before he proceeds to deliver the final judgment.
Detective Corporal Obotol is represented by Magomu Muminu, while the other five accused are represented by Francis Ajum and Joseph Odong.