Court dismisses arson case against Soroti city woman MP, 11 others
Alobo had been charged with arson, malicious damage, housebreaking and inciting violence on March 6, 2025.
Soroti city Woman MP Joan Alobo addressing the press. Alobo had been charged with arson, malicious damage, housebreaking and inciting violence on March 6, 2025. (Photos by Godfrey Ojore)
By Godfrey Ojore
Journalists @New Vision
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Soroti city Woman MP Joan Alobo can now smile after the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Soroti on Monday, August 18, dismissed an arson case against her and 11 other city residents.
Alobo had been charged with arson, malicious damage, housebreaking and inciting violence on March 6, 2025.
Chief Magistrate Hilda Bakanansa Walaga ruled on Monday that the case be dismissed for want of prosecution, following repeated failures by the prosecution to produce witnesses despite several adjournments.
The case dragged on for five months and eight days, and each time the suspects were brought to court, the prosecution failed to present witnesses to testify against them.
The 11 co-accused with Alobo included Joseph Osege, Solomon Obura, Norah Akiror, Joseph Egimu, Emmanuel Okiror, James Odongo, Stephen Okello, Juma Ogwel, Moses Olipa, Sam Idakun, Joseph Okol and Mark Obonyo.
The court’s decision brought relief to MP Alobo, who told journalists outside court that the charges had been trumped up to taint her name.
“Even though I am the city woman MP, I did not step into the school because the school compound was a crime scene. Dragging me to be part of the people who burnt the school is not only malicious but defamatory by those who wanted to kill my political career,” Alobo said.
Some of the classrooms that were set on fire.
“I appeal to the court to speed up the trial process of the case regarding the murder of twin Joan Apio, so that the parents get justice. I applaud the chief magistrate for her professional conduct while handling my case today,” she added.
Alobo was represented by MPs Moses Bitek Junior (Kyoga County), Ann Adeke Ebaju (Soroti district woman), Edmond Elasu and Gabriel Ogire.
The court also ordered that Alobo and her co-accused be refunded the sh24 million they had paid to secure bail.
Background to the case
On the morning of March 6, 2025, angry residents stormed Jozan Nursery and Primary School in Soroti City East Division, after a five-year-old twin, Joan Apio, was found dead with her throat slit inside the school toilet.
Apio had been discovered on the afternoon of February 5, 2025, two days after joining the school with her twin sister for Primary One studies. Both were in the boarding section.
Eight people, including the school director Joseph Okedi and his wife Vivian Suzan Ariokot Okedi, headteacher James Edoket, and others, were arrested.
Among the suspects were police officer John Bosco Obotol, attached to crime intelligence in Soroti City East Division and a younger brother of Okedi; school cook Valentin Opio, 37; matron Osula Adongo; and two minors, including Okedi’s daughter. They were all charged with Apio’s murder.
On 6 March, when these suspects were produced in court, hundreds of people turned up expecting to see them in person, only to find they were appearing via video conference.
The development angered the crowd, many of whom had never witnessed a virtual hearing. Enraged, they marched to the school and set it on fire.
Police attempts to disperse the crowd with tear gas failed, and the army was called in at 2:30pm. Later that night, people returned to the school and razed it completely.
Police alleged that MP Alobo was among those who took part in burning the school, a claim she has consistently denied, saying she was only present in court and later returned home.
“I went to court for two reasons, one as a leader and two as a mother of twins. I thought that it was wise to stand with a fellow mother of twins, but I did not go to Joza,n and I have never stepped foot in that school since,” Alobo said.
Investigations into the eight suspects accused of murder are still ongoing, and they have not yet been committed to the High Court for trial.
Although relieved by Monday’s ruling, Alobo still faces other legal challenges. She is expected back in court in September over separate cases linked to the “No Cow, No Vote” campaign and another relating to a road protest.