Jozan Ritual Murder: Woman Jailed for Life as Two Co-Convicts Get 35, 30 Years

What the report says

Soroti High Court has sentenced three people in the murder case of five-year-old Joan Faith Apio, a Primary One pupil at the now closed Jozan Nursery and Primary School in Soroti. Susan Vivian Ariokot, identified as the wife of one of the school directors, received a life sentence, while Joseph Okedi was given 30 years and his brother, Detective Corporal John Bosco Obotol, 35 years. The ruling was delivered by Justice Boniface Wamala after the court found the trio guilty in a case that has drawn strong public attention in the Teso sub-region.

According to Nile Post, the child was found dead in a school toilet in Soroti City East Division on February 5, 2025. The prosecution said she was unlawfully killed with malice aforethought, and six adults were initially charged. The court said the evidence showed severe injuries to the child’s neck and treated the killing as especially brutal. The judge also said the crime had the characteristics of child sacrifice, though sentencing remained subject to legal guidelines and consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors.

Nile Post reported that the court acquitted and freed school cook Valentin Opio, headteacher James Edoket and school matron Osula Adong, finding insufficient evidence against them. The judge said the punishments should deter similar crimes and noted Obotol’s role as a police officer carried added responsibility. The court also ordered that money recovered from the convicts go to Apio’s parents for burial expenses and that their properties be returned to relatives.