Thirty two years after the body of British wildlife photographer Julie Ward was found in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, her family's quest for justice has received fresh impetus.
John Ward, Julie's father, told British press on Saturday, August 22, that his quest to uncover the truth was boosted as witnesses were becoming more willing to come forward in recent months. This, he stated, was because of the death of former President Daniel Arap Moi on February 4, 2020.
Moi's son Jonathan, a former rally driver who died in 2019, was adversely mentioned during investigations into the case. He, however, denied the allegations that he was responsible for the death, and maintained in a police statement that he was nowhere near the park when the murder took place.
"I am totally shocked to hear this. I had no relationship with the said lady (Julie) and I even didn't know her. I never did such a thing and it has never crossed my mind to do it," the late Jonathan stated at the time.
John Ward, however, now claims that a witness he spoke to confirmed that Jonathan was at the park. He claimed that the witness was visibly scared when they met.
"We now have information that he was (at the park). Once Moi died, people were more willing to speak.
"I met one guy who was able to tell us Moi had been in the park, had been in that immediate area where the body was found, and he had proof. When I met him, he was physically trembling,” he told The Mirror.
Baringo Senator Gideon Moi of the Moi family was yet to respond to related queries from Kenyans.co.ke by the time of publication.
John Ward was last in Kenya in September 2019 as part of his continued quest for justice over the past thirty years. He stated that he would not give up as he felt he owed it to his daughter to uncover the truth.
He further disclosed that filmmakers affiliated with Netflix had approached him seeking to make Julie's tragic story into a 10-part series.
“Filmmakers want to make a Netflix documentary like the Madeleine McCann one. But we may have too much information for 10 episodes,” he disclosed, referring to a series on the Madeleine McCann, widely considered "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history".
Ward estimates he has spent over 2 million dollars (approximately Ksh200 million) over the past thirty years shuttling between Kenya and Britain searching for justice
British sleuths had accused their Kenyan counterparts of dishonesty in the investigation, with John Ward claiming British and Kenyan police colluded to frustrate investigations.
According to Ward, the British Government was worried about causing diplomatic tensions with Kenya by taking up the matter. Both countries, however, denied the allegations.
