By Stephen Enatu and Stephen Ojacor
The family of five-year-old Joan Apio Faith is engulfed in profound sorrow following her brutal murder at Jozan Nursery and Primary School.
Their home in Malinga cell, Nakatunya ward, Soroti city west Division, is filled with mourners, yet their hope for justice remains dim. They are now focused on arranging a befitting burial at their ancestral home in Otela Ikiliok, Akoromit, Kapelebyong District.
Apio’s twin sister, Achen Angela Faith, is deeply traumatized and now fears returning to school. Through tears, she recounted their last moments together in the dormitory before an unidentified man took Apio towards the latrine. Later, she saw a man and a woman carrying Apio’s lifeless body into a car before it was transported to the hospital.
Margaret Akol, one of Apio’s grandmothers, expressed profound sorrow, recalling how she had lived with the twins in Gulu before they went to school. Sobbing, she demanded, “We want total justice for our little Apio.”
Apio’s other grandmother, Agayo Mary Among, tearfully recounted how the family was initially informed that the child was sick and receiving treatment in the hospital’s outpatient department. However, upon arrival, they were met with the devastating reality—Apio’s lifeless body locked in the mortuary.
Apio’s mother, Evelyn Akol, broke down as she recalled the moment she found her daughter dead.
“I first reported with my children on February 3rd and paid three-quarters of the school fees. The bursar assured me of their safety. On Tuesday morning, I spoke to the matron, and she assured me the children were fine. On Wednesday at 6:50 PM, while at work, I received a call from the bursar saying one twin daughter is sick and has been admitted at the hospital. I immediately jumped on a boda-boda because my children had never been in such a situation. I thought she was receiving a blood transfusion. We rushed from Katakwi to the hospital, arriving in less than an hour. I moved around the hospital like a mad person, ward to ward, I wasn’t seeing my child. I heard some people talking about mortuary, mortuary… I had to rush there only to find the mortuary locked but through the glass, I saw my daughter lying lifeless on the school uniform on the mortuary bed,” Akol narrated before collapsing in grief.
Apio’s aunt, Mary Among, is now demanding that authorities demolish the latrine where the murder reportedly occurred and conduct a thorough investigation into what might be hidden beneath it.
As part of an ongoing investigation into the suspected ritual killing, police have arrested five suspects in connection with the murder. Among those arrested is Suzan Vivian Okedi, the wife of the director of Jozan Nursery and Primary School.
East Kyoga Regional Police Commander (RPC) Damalie Nachuha confirmed the arrest on Monday, February 10. Okedi was taken into custody alongside her brother, who was apprehended on the school premises.
The others in custody are the school director Joseph Kedi, school head teacher David Kadimba, deputy head teacher, and the matron.
Joan Apio Faith was born on December 17, 2019, and was tragically killed on February 5, 2025.
Her grieving family now clings to prayers, hoping that justice will be served for their little girl. The late’s body is still lying at the hospital mortuary, according to the fam