The High Court in Soroti has sentenced the director of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, his wife and his brother to life imprisonment and a combined 80 years in jail for the murder of five-year-old Joan Faith Apio, a Primary One pupil whose killing shocked the country.
Justice Boniface Wamala sentenced Susan Ariokot Vivian Okedi to life imprisonment, John Bosco Obotol to 45 years in prison, and Joseph Okedi, the school’s director, to 35 years in prison after finding them guilty of murder.
The three convicts are members of the same family. Joseph Okedi and Susan Ariokot Vivian Okedi are husband and wife, while John Bosco Obotol is Joseph’s brother.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Apio and her twin sister were taken to the school on February 3, 2025, and left in the care of the school administration. Their mother remained in contact with the school and was repeatedly assured that both children were well.
On February 5, the school informed her that Apio had fallen ill and had been taken to Soroti Regional Referral Hospital. When she arrived, she found her daughter already dead.
Police investigations led to the arrest of the three adults and two juveniles. During the trial, the juveniles had their charges reduced to accessory to the fact of murder and were later sentenced to one year, five months and 28 days after testifying for the prosecution.
A postmortem examination found that Apio suffered three deep cuts to the neck, which severed her trachea, esophagus and major blood vessels, causing fatal bleeding.
The prosecution also established that the five-year-old, who was a twin, was killed for ritual blessings.
- The case was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which said the sentences should serve as a strong deterrent against child sacrifice and other crimes targeting children.
