Archival Sense
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- Dec 16, 2025
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Soroti High Court Resident Judge Boniface Wamala found the proprietor, Ariokot, responsible for the killing of Joan Faith Apio, who was murdered at the school on February 5, 2025, in what the court heard was a planned ritual sacrifice motivated by material gain.
In his ruling, Justice Wamala described the injuries inflicted on the child as “horrific and inhumane” and criticised Ariokot for her role in the killing.
The judge questioned how the accused could have inflicted such severe injuries on a young child.
Evidence presented to court showed the extent of the injuries inflicted on Apio. A postmortem examination found that four muscles involved in swallowing were missing, while parts of the bone connecting the neck to the ear had also been removed.
The upper section of the child’s trachea was missing, while the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart had been severed.
The court considered the nature and extent of the injuries in assessing the gravity of the offence before handing Ariokot a life sentence.
Ariokot’s husband, Joseph Okedi, and police officer John Bosco Obotol were also convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 and 45 years in prison respectively by Soroti High court resident judge Boniface Wamala.
Two juveniles, identified in court as A6 and A7, were central to the prosecution’s case.
The two had earlier pleaded guilty, were convicted and discharged, and subsequently testified against the adult accused. A6 told court that on the day of the murder, she encountered Ariokot near the school latrine and was instructed to bring one of the twins to meet Obotol, who was standing outside the school fence.
After bringing Apio, A6 said Ariokot took the child into the school latrine. She told court that she hid in the boys’ latrine after hearing Apio scream. According to A6, Ariokot later ordered her not to tell anyone about what had happened and threatened to kill her like Apio.
A6 further testified that Ariokot sent her to the school canteen to buy a cutter knife. After she returned with the knife, Ariokot allegedly used it to cut Apio’s throat and remove tissue from the child’s neck, which she placed in a black polythene bag and handed to Obotol.
A7, Ariokot and Okedi’s daughter, also testified that her mother and Obotol returned to the school later that evening and that Ariokot confessed to killing Apio. The prosecution also presented two postmortem reports, DNA evidence and a green cutter knife recovered from the crime scene.
Justice Wamala found the evidence insufficient to connect the school cook, Valentine Opio; matron Osula Adong; and head teacher James Edoket to the murder. The three were acquitted.
The conviction brings to an end a case arising from the killing of the young pupil, whose death the prosecution said was part of a deliberate ritual sacrifice carried out for material gain.
Source: The Observer
