Bombshell new evidence in the murder of Julie Ward, who disappeared in Kenya in 1988, has reignited call for justice, suggesting that her suspected killer, Jonathan Moi, the son of the then Kenyan president, escaped accountability due to a protracted cover-up involving multiple authorities. According to the Ward family, crucial evidence implicating Moi was effectively locked away in a Metropolitan Police safe for nearly a decade, allowing him to evade justice until his death in 2019.
John Ward, Julie's father, dedicated the remainder of his life to uncovering the truth about his daughter's brutal murder. Enduring years of obfuscation and corruption, he amassed considerable evidence pointing towards a harrowing conclusion: that Julie had been kidnapped, raped, and murdered on the orders of Moi, who lived a life free of suspicion while John battled through obstacles and misinformation. Over 35 years, he made almost 200 trips to Kenya, spending upwards of £2 million, driven by a tenacity borne of grief and love for his only daughter.
The watershed moment in the investigation arose from a recently revealed witness statement obtained by a Scotland Yard detective in 2011. This testimony places Moi near the Masai Mara game reserve at the time of Julie's disappearance, directly contradicting his claims of being over 110 miles away on his farm. Bob Ward, Julie's younger brother, expressed his dismay that such a significant piece of evidence was never acted upon, stating, “Their failure to act on it – and indeed to bury it – conveniently until after the prime suspect had died is as scandalous as it is upsetting.”
Julie Ward, an avid animal lover, had been on a six-month photographic safari in Africa when she vanished. Her last known sighting was at the Sand River Campsite on September 6, just days before her family received the news of her disappearance. John Ward's ensuing search led to the grim discovery of his daughter’s remains—terribly burned and dismembered—in a remote area of the game reserve several miles from her abandoned vehicle. The investigation quickly turned strange, mired in bizarre theories from the Kenyan authorities, ranging from lion attacks to lightning strikes, which John vehemently rejected.
Despite a series of forensic examinations that indicated Julie had been brutally murdered, key evidence—including her vehicle—remained inexplicably mishandled by authorities. The vehicle, crucial for forensic evidence, was seized before it could be tested in the UK and subsequently destroyed, a tragic twist that compounded the family’s sense of betrayal.
An independent inquiry conducted by Lincolnshire Police later found that Scotland Yard and the Foreign Office had engaged in numerous contradictions and obfuscations throughout the investigation. This corroboration seemingly validated John Ward's long-held concerns about high-level government interference aimed at maintaining amicable UK-Kenya relations, particularly significant given the enduring popularity of tourism to Kenya. With around 150,000 British tourists visiting each year, the implications of prosecuting a prominent Kenyan figure tied to such a horrific crime could have been diplomatically explosive.
John Ward's relentless fight against the perceived collusion of the British government, the Kenyan authorities, and the Metropolitan Police did not go unnoticed. Even former MI6 personnel have confessed to being involved in the investigation, although they have denied orchestrating a cover-up. The complexities of international relations intertwined with the case, as officials urged John to refrain from "rocking the boat" during his inquiries.
With their father’s passing in 2023, Bob Ward and his brother Tim continue the quest for clarity in Julie’s case. Echoing their father’s unwavering spirit, Bob has publicly declared, “There have been lies. We are as determined as ever to get to the truth.” Despite the passage of time and the death of Jonathan Moi, Bob believes that many individuals remain who might divulge crucial information regarding the case, including those within the Masai Mara.
As the Ward family prepares to challenge the Metropolitan Police on their handling of the newly uncovered evidence, they remain resolute in their pursuit of justice for Julie. The recently revealed witness statements, coupled with decades of evidence collected by John, highlight the need for a thorough reevaluation of the investigation, particularly regarding potential conspiracies that may have shielded powerful individuals from facing justice. With calls for renewed scrutiny into Scotland Yard's conduct, the family hopes that perhaps one day, the truth surrounding Julie Ward’s murder will finally be unveiled.
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Source: Noah Wire Services