CCTV Footage Delays Defense in Joan Apio Murder Trial

Defense lawyers for six suspects accused of murdering Joan Faith Apio have failed to obtain CCTV footage from Pride Bank’s Soroti branch due to ongoing verification of a court order. On Monday, August 10, 2026, Soroti High Court Resident Judge Justice Boniface Wamala issued a second order directing the defense to serve Pride Bank so that CCTV footage from its Soroti branch could be obtained and presented as defense evidence for prime suspect Suzan Vivian Ariokot.

Ariokot is accused of masterminding the death of Apio, a Primary One pupil at Jozan Nursery and Primary School, who was found murdered in the school’s latrine on February 5, 2025. Ariokot has told the court that at the time Apio was killed, she was at Pride Bank processing a loan and did not go to the school.

Justice Wamala issued the order after school directors Ariokot and Joseph Okedi told the court that the footage could help establish their whereabouts on the day Apio was killed. The High Court has since ruled that the prosecution established a prima facie case, requiring the six accused to present their defence.

The accused are school directors Joseph Okedi and Suzan Vivian Ariokot, headteacher James Edoket, school cook Valentine Opio, school matron Osula Adong, and police officer John Bosco Obotol. All have denied the murder charges. Defense lawyers Francis Ajuun and Joseph Odong, who are representing the accused on state brief, told the court that they had served Pride Bank in Kampala with the second court order requiring the bank to provide the CCTV footage from its Soroti branch.

Ajuun said the order was served on August 11, but the bank’s Head of Security, Emmanuel Machonga, informed them that the document first had to undergo verification in line with the bank’s internal procedures. “Upon receipt of the order, the Head of Security at Pride Bank, Emmanuel Machonga, communicated that they would have to verify the order as a matter of company policy,” Ajuun told the court.

He said bank officials had already visited the registrar’s office to verify the order and establish its authenticity. “We are waiting for the response from Pride Bank having verified the court order,” Ajuun said. He asked the court to give the defence more time to obtain the footage, saying it was critical to Ariokot’s defence.The prosecution objected to the request, accusing the defence and the accused of attempting to delay justice. “They are aware that this is a High Court special session, not a normal session,” the prosecution told the court. Ajuun, however, rejected the accusation, saying the defence was not deliberately delaying the proceedings and that the verification process was entirely within the bank’s procedures.

He explained that the order was issued on August 10 in the evening, requiring someone to travel to Kampala to serve it, which the defence subsequently did. Ajuun said the lawyers were now waiting for the bank either to provide the footage or clarify its status. He maintained that the nature of the evidence sought had caused the delay.

Justice Wamala said that since efforts to retrieve the CCTV footage were already underway, terminating the process at this stage would not serve the interests of justice. The judge granted the defence a final adjournment until August 13, 2026, warning that if the footage is not obtained by then, the defence should be prepared to proceed without it. 

The case has been adjourned to August 13, 2026, for further hearing and to allow the defence to present the CCTV evidence, if obtained.