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The six people accused of murdering Joan Faith Apio, a six-year-old pupil at Jozan Nursery and Primary School, have abandoned plans to call defence witnesses, citing fears for the witnesses’ safety and livelihoods.
Instead, the accused told the High court in Soroti that they will rely on CCTV footage and documentary evidence in their defence.
The accused are school directors Joseph Okedi and Suzan Vivian Ariokot Okedi, headteacher James Edoket, school cook Valentine Opio, school matron Osula Adong and police officer John Bosco Obotol. They all deny murdering Apio, who was found dead in the school’s latrine on February 5, 2025.
Justice Boniface Wamala granted the defence what he described as a final adjournment until Monday, August 10, 2026, to file and present its remaining evidence.
“This is the last time I am adjourning court regarding the hearing of this matter. Go and prepare very well and present the necessary evidence that you say you have on Monday,” Justice Wamala ruled.
The defence phase began after the court found that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the accused to answer the charges. Initially, Ariokot, Okedi and Obotol had indicated that they intended to call witnesses to support their defence.
They also sought to rely on CCTV footage from Pride Bank, which they say would show Ariokot processing a Shs 50 million loan at the time of the incident, as well as footage from her business premises in Soroti city to support her alibi.
The defence further applied for CCTV footage from Soroti Regional Referral Hospital to challenge the testimony of prosecution witness Jane Namudu, who told the court that Okedi and three other people brought Apio to the hospital while allegedly claiming that she had been involved in an accident.
However, when the case resumed on Friday for the defence hearing, lead defence counsel Francis Ajuun told the court that the intended witnesses had withdrawn after expressing fears about the consequences of testifying.
“We had the opportunity to interact with the witnesses yesterday after court, and they expressed fear and are unable to come and give evidence. As such, we will not be able to have any witnesses,” Ajuun told the court.
He said the witnesses feared public backlash that could jeopardise their employment and had even asked whether they could testify in chambers. Following consultations, the defence decided to abandon witness testimony and instead focus on obtaining CCTV footage from Pride Bank, Soroti hospital and Ariokot’s business premises.
Ajuun told the court that both the hospital and the bank had been served with court orders and had undertaken to retrieve any available footage through their information technology departments.
“We served the referral hospital, and they asked us to wait. Pride Bank has also requested us to wait for their IT specialists to check the footage before it is delivered to court if it is found,” he said.
Defence lawyer Joseph Odong, appearing on behalf of Obotol’s lead counsel, Muminu Magonu, told the court that the witnesses they had approached had also declined to testify for similar reasons.
“The witnesses have told us that their jobs are at risk if they come to testify in court. Obotol will not call any witnesses, and we now leave it to the court to decide on the evidence Obotol has made,” Odong said.
Before allowing the withdrawal of the witnesses, Justice Wamala sought confirmation directly from the accused. Ariokot, Okedi and Obotol each confirmed that they had abandoned plans to call witnesses and would instead rely on CCTV footage and other documentary evidence.
The trial resumes on Monday, August 10, 2026, when the defence is expected to present its remaining evidence before the case proceeds to the next stage.
