Assessors back conviction in Lira toddler murder trial

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After years of anguish and a trial that gripped Lira city, court assessors have advised the High Court to convict a 37-year-old man accused of kidnapping and murdering four-year-old Elizabeth Akello, bringing the case to a decisive and emotionally charged stage.

In a joint opinion delivered on April 12, 2026, the two assessors told court that the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt both counts of kidnap with intent to murder and murder against Kenneth Opio.

Reading the opinion, assessor Edward Ojungu said the evidence presented by the prosecution firmly established that Opio lured the child from Lira Timber Yard on April 8, 2021, under false pretences before her eventual killing.

The assessors noted that the child and her companion were deceived with promises of sweets and soda, and that the accused forcefully took control of the victim when the other child resisted and escaped. They added that the disappearance was followed by a fruitless community search.

Kenneth Opio being led to cell after, Assessors advised court to convict him on both counts. (Photo by Hudson Apunyo)

“It is our opinion that there was every intent and motivation to kidnap and murder the victim,” Ojungu told court.

They further concluded that the manner in which the child was taken, through deception and coercion, amounted to both forceful and fraudulent abduction.

Link to the killing

On the charge of murder, the assessors said the prosecution had sufficiently proved that Akello's death was unlawful and carried out with malice aforethought.

They relied on DNA evidence confirming the identity of skeletal remains recovered two months later, testimony from the child’s mother, who identified her belongings, medical evidence presented by a pathologist, and witness accounts placing the accused at the scene.

The assessors described the killing as “well planned and executed,” pointing to the sequence of events from abduction to the recovery of the body in a decomposed state in a bush.

Role of co-accused

The court heard that Opio’s co-accused, Isaac Okello, had earlier pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years in prison before turning state witness.

Okello testified that the child had been handed over to him by Opio under false claims that she was his own daughter, an assertion the assessors said pointed to deliberate deception.

“If there was no ill intention, there would have been no need to lie,” the assessors noted.

Credibility of witnesses

Particular weight was placed on the testimony of a juvenile witness, who was described as truthful, consistent, and reliable.

Her account of how she escaped while the accused held onto Elizabeth was found to be credible and crucial in linking Opio to the crime.

The assessors dismissed the defence of mistaken identity, citing consistent witness accounts and corroborating evidence, including the accused’s conduct after the incident, where he allegedly fled upon being confronted.

Conclusion and next step

In their final advice, the assessors described the accused’s defence as “an afterthought and a pack of lies intended to evade justice,” urging court to find him guilty on both counts.

The case has been adjourned to April 17, 2026, for both defence and prosecution submissions, after which Justice Sarah Birungi Kalibbala is expected to deliver judgment.

The case, which once stirred tension across Lira, continues to draw intense public attention, with many residents awaiting closure in the brutal killing of a young child whose death left a lasting scar on the city.