A son of the late former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi has been named as the prime suspect in the 1988 murder of British tourist Julie Ward, following the emergence of new evidence linking him to the brutal killing in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.
Julie Ward, a 28-year-old wildlife photographer, was last seen alive on September 6, 1988, before her charred remains were found days later in the Mara. Her body had been dismembered and partially burned—only parts of her leg, jawbone, and skull were recovered. While initial official accounts attempted to dismiss her death as suicide, animal attack, or even lightning strike, subsequent investigations confirmed she had been murdered.
Now, in a stunning development, a fresh probe by The Telegraph reveals that a key witness interviewed by the UK’s Metropolitan Police in 2011 provided a detailed statement directly implicating the eldest son of President Moi in Ward’s murder. The revelation is reigniting long-standing suspicions of high-level cover-ups and political interference.
The Ward family claims the UK and Kenyan governments may have colluded to suppress the truth in order to protect diplomatic ties. They allege that vital evidence—including the 2011 witness statement—was sealed away in a safe in Lewisham, effectively burying the possibility of justice for decades.
Julie’s brother, Bob Ward, expressed outrage at the prolonged silence, telling The Telegraph: “It is unthinkable that those statements with such vital information have been locked away in a safe in Lewisham for all of these years. The chance to deliver justice for Julie may now be lost.”
A former staff member at a safari camp in the Maasai Mara has corroborated the claim, stating that Moi’s son and a small entourage arrived at the lodge unexpectedly in September 1988—coinciding with the time of Ward’s disappearance. The group allegedly left abruptly the next morning under suspicious circumstances. The son of the former president had previously denied being anywhere near the Maasai Mara during that period, telling police in 1997 that he was at one of his farms more than 150 miles away.
This latest revelation casts renewed scrutiny on the integrity of past investigations and the motives behind official narratives. The Ward family had earlier attempted to file a formal complaint against the Metropolitan Police for mishandling the case but were unsuccessful.
As public attention turns once again to the decades-old mystery, questions persist: Was Julie Ward’s murder covered up to protect powerful individuals? And can justice still be achieved nearly 37 years later?
Julie Ward’s tragic case remains one of the most high-profile unsolved murders involving a foreign national in Kenya’s history.
