Jonathan Moi: The Life and Times of Celebrated Rally Driver

A blow has befallen former President Daniel Arap Moi's family after he lost a son, Jonathan Moi, who succumbed to cancer at a Nakuru hospital on Saturday, April 20.

Very few people, however, know the life of Jonathan as he had developed a tendency to keep his life lowkey despite the indomitable power that his family has in the country.

Rally driver

According to reports, Jonathan was a revered rally driver in the country who amassed numerous awards and participated in various competitions including Caltex Equator Rally which was held in Nairobi Kenya. He drove a famous Toyota Celica.

Before raising to the respectable status, however, the former rally driver had to ward off the negative press after reports hit the headlines that he had murdered a woman identified as Julie Ward back in September 1988.

Julie Ward Murder

At the time, the first information of the Moi's son involvement first originated from a Swiss TV crew before it spread to local headlines.

At the time, Ward, a young woman who had traveled into the country for a seven-month wildlife photography excursion, mysteriously disappeared in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Game Reserve.

According to a report by Citizen TV, her father, John Ward, was the first to sense her daughter's disappearance and took the plane to the Mara in search of her.

Her father recounted finding remains of her body: the jaw and the lower left leg, that had been burnt, deep in the bushes of Maasai Mara.

The leg had also been chopped off by a blow from a panga or something sharp.

No one has, however, been convicted since the reports hit the headlines.

1,000-acre Land Case

In May 1994, Jonathan was sucked into a land scandal after a company associated with him sold a 1,000 acre parcel of land that was reportedly part of Ngong Forest.

The land was allegedly sold to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) pocketing a total of Ksh70 million which was a lot of money back then.

In 2017, the Kenya Forest Service gazetted the 1,000 acres as part of Ngong Forest which prompted Jonathan's company to rush to court to protect the legality of the sale which they lost in 2018.

Elections Trial

In 2002, Jonathan tried his hand at politics when he vied for Eldama Ravine parliamentary seat but lost to Musa Sirma, his father's long term ally. He reportedly quit after that and served as Gideon Moi's advisor.

His son, Collins Moi, also hit the headlines in January this year he abandoned his girlfriend at a Kitale hotel.

Jonathan was also a renowned farmer.

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