The High Court in Soroti has sentenced the wife of the director of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, Mrs Ariokot Susan Vivian Okedi, to life imprisonment, while her husband Okedi Joseph and brother in law Obotol John Bosco were handed 35 years’, and 45 years’ imprisonment terms, respectively, over the murder of five-year-old Apio Joan Faith in Soroti city last year.
The Resident Judge Hon. Justice Boniface Wamala, sentenced the three family members on Thursday after they were found guilty and convicted of the then Primary One pupil’s murder.
The case arose from the death of Apio Joan Faith on February 5, 2025, Apio and her twin sister were taken to Jozan Nursery and Primary School on February 3, 2025, and entrusted to the school administration by their mother.
The mother maintained contact with the school on February 3rd and 4th and was assured that the twins were well.
However, on February 5, the school informed her that Apio had fallen ill and had been taken to Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, where she found her daughter already dead.
The matter was reported to the police, who commenced investigations that culminated in the arrest of Okedi Joseph, the director of Jozan Nursery and Primary School, Ariokot Susan Vivian Okedi, his wife, Obotol John Bosco, his brother, also a police officer in the Crime Intelligence Department at Soroti East Division, and two juveniles.
At the beginning of the trial, the two juveniles had their charges amended to accessory to the fact of murder, they were subsequently convicted, and the court sentenced them to imprisonment for 1 year, 5 months, and 28 days.
The two juveniles testified for the prosecution led by the Assistant DPP Soroti Ms. Gladys Macrina Nyanzi, whose evidence strengthened the case against the three convicts.
The post-mortem examination established that the deceased had three incisional wounds on the neck, running from left to right and causing severe injuries to the neck structures.
The trachea, esophagus, and blood vessels had been completely severed, while the thyroid bone was fractured.
The cause of death was excessive bleeding resulting from extensive damage to the soft tissues and blood vessels of the neck, and the manner of death was recorded as homicide.
During the trial, it was established that Apio, being a twin, was killed for blessings.
