Matron links Jozan director, headmaster to alleged crime scene tampering
Adongo told court that Okedi instructed her to remove Apio's body from a school toilet and take it to hospital, claiming that the child was still alive.
The former matron of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, Osula Adongo, testifying in court. (Photos by Godfrey Ojore)
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The former matron of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, Osula Adongo, has implicated the school director, Joseph Okedi, and headmaster, James Edoket, in the alleged tampering with the crime scene in the murder of five-year-old Joan Faith Apio.
Adongo, who is among the six people charged with Apio's murder, gave the testimony on August 6, 2026, while presenting her defence before Soroti High Court judge Boniface Wamala.
Apio, a former pupil of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, was allegedly murdered on February 5, 2025.
Adongo told court that Okedi instructed her to remove Apio's body from a school toilet and take it to hospital, claiming that the child was still alive.
However, Adongo said she immediately realised that Apio was dead after seeing a deep cut on her neck.
“When I carried the child inside the toilet where she was killed after Okedi instructed me, I saw a deep cut on her neck. As a mother, I knew the child had already died. Inside the toilet was a jerrycan and blood,” Adongo told court.
Her testimony contradicted earlier evidence by Okedi, who reportedly told court that Apio was still alive when she was taken from the toilet.
Adongo also told court that the suspected knife used in the killing was among a dozen cutter knives bought by Okedi on the day of the incident.
She said she had given Okedi a shopping list of items needed for the school canteen, where she had been assigned to work in addition to being the school matron, but the cutter knives were not among the items on the list.
“I don’t know why he shopped for the cutter knives because I had not listed them. The cutter knives and the other items I had listed were bought on the fateful day,” she said.
Apio's disappearance
Police detective John Bosco Obotol while in court.
She told court that the two girls went to the dormitory to change clothes before returning outside to play with an old tyre.
Adongo said she later went to fetch water from a tap located between the dormitory and the kitchen, where she found Acen standing alone.
“When I asked her where her sister was, she said she did not know,” Adongo said.
She instructed Acen to look for her sister while she continued fetching water, but the girl returned shortly afterwards and said she had failed to find Apio.
Adongo said she became worried and immediately informed Okedi, who was in his office.
According to her, Okedi left his office and joined the search while she mobilised other pupils to look for Apio.
She said Okedi was outside the school fence while she searched the dormitories with some pupils.
Moments later, a child reportedly ran towards her from the direction of the toilets and said a pupil was lying inside one of the rooms.
Adongo said she rushed to the toilet with other children but found the door locked.
According to Adongo, Okedi then ran to his office and returned with Edoket, who was carrying a metal object.
“He hit the padlock as Edoket held it until it opened. He then instructed me to carry the child into his vehicle, but the child was already dead,” she said.
Jerrycan, blood and knife
Adongo told court that she saw a five-litre jerrycan and blood inside the toilet where Apio was found.
Her evidence is consistent with earlier testimony by a police investigating officer, who tendered a jerrycan recovered during the investigations.
On the suspected murder weapon, Adongo said the knife exhibited in court was one of the cutter knives Okedi had purchased on the day of the incident.
“He bought a dozen, and the first one I sold to a pupil was green in colour,” she said.
Earlier, Edoket, who identified himself as the headmaster in charge of the nursery section at Jozan, reportedly told court that Apio was still alive when she was found.
Meanwhile, police detective John Bosco Obotol, a brother of Okedi, has also been implicated by the prosecution in the alleged interference with the crime scene.
Obotol, who has since testified in the case, reportedly told court that although he was arrested at the school premises, he had not been deployed to work there and had not been given permission by his superiors to be at the school.
At the end of her defence, Adongo asked the family of the deceased child for forgiveness.
The trial continues today with witnesses for the suspects giving their testimony.