Suspected murder weapon produced as court hears roles of six accused in Joan Apio murder
Inspector of Police (IP) Geoffrey Onume, attached to Soroti East Police Division, testified before Justice Boniface Wamala on Friday (July 31), that investigations placed Susan Vivian Ariokot, the wife of school director Joseph Okedi, at the scene of the crime.
Inspector of Police (IP) Geoffrey Onume, showing court the suspected cutter knife used for allegedly killing Joan Faith Apio. (Photos by Godfrey Ojore)
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A suspected knife allegedly used in the murder of five-year-old Joan Faith Apio has been tendered as an exhibit before the High Court in Soroti, as the lead investigating officer outlined the alleged roles played by each of the six accused persons.
Inspector of Police (IP) Geoffrey Onume, attached to Soroti East Police Division, testified before Justice Boniface Wamala on Friday (July 31), that investigations placed Susan Vivian Ariokot, the wife of school director Joseph Okedi, at the scene of the crime. He told court that she was treated as a prime suspect during the investigations.
Susan Vivian Ariokot (left) sharing with her husband Josephn Okedi, seated next to him is Edoket and Obotol leaning on the dock
Onume further testified that police detective Corporal John Bosco Obotol, a brother of Okedi, allegedly played a role in removing body parts from the deceased after the murder, which is alleged to have occurred on February 5, 2025, inside a toilet at Jozan Nursery and Primary School.
According to Onume, a statement recorded from Ariokot's juvenile daughter indicated that at about 8:00 pm on the day of the incident, Ariokot, accompanied by Obotol, returned to the school and instructed the child to throw away the key to the padlock that had secured the toilet where Apio's body was later found.
Onume testified that the minor further alleged that Ariokot confessed to her that she had killed Apio and warned her never to disclose the information to anyone.
The officer told court that testimonies from two juvenile witnesses significantly aided the police investigations.
"The minor informed me that after allegedly killing the girl, Ariokot threw the cutter knife with a green handle into the toilet. When we later opened the toilet, we recovered the same knife," Onume testified before tendering the suspected murder weapon as an exhibit.
He further alleged that Ariokot instructed her daughter to dispose of the key used to lock the toilet where the child's body was recovered.
He further alleged that Okedi reported an attempted murder at Kengere Police Post despite allegedly having already been informed by medical personnel that the child had died.
The investigating officer also implicated the school's head teacher, James Edoket, alleging that he participated in breaking into the toilet where the child's body had been locked.
"Even after realising that the child was dead, he and Okedi decided to take the body away under the pretext that she was still alive," Onume told court.
The hearing continues before Justice Wamala as the prosecution leads evidence against the six accused persons, all of whom deny the charges.