John Ward, father who spent Sh350m in pursuit of daughter's killers, dies

British hotelier John Ward whose daughter Julie Ward was murdered in the Maasai Mara in 1988 has died only days before his 90th birthday.

The heart-broken Briton tirelessly pursued justice for his daughter for over 30 years and in the process spent  two million Sterling pounds (Sh350m) in search of closure.

His spirited search for the truth and justice, even as the Kenyan police and prosecutors, and even the British authorities, erected hurdle after hurdle, would see him make a staggering 100 trips to Kenya in the hope the killers of his daughter, 28, would be arrested, tried and convicted. That was never to be.

After the young photographer was killed and her body set ablaze, a number of theories would crop up including reports, which would be rubbished, that Julie had been eaten by lions after being struck by lighting after her Suzuki Jimny broke down in the Mara.

Ward indefatigable pursuit of the truth would later prove that his daughter was killed and burnt by a gas fire.

The chief government pathologist Jason Kaviti was found to have doctored his report so it be in synch with the government position that Julie had been killed by wild animals.

The suspects were eventually charged but none was found guilty and the cases collapsed.

In 1992 two park rangers were acquitted of her murder due to a lack of evidence. The presiding judge in the trial recommended the investigation of the head park ranger.

In July 1998, Simon Ole Makallah, the chief park warden at the time of the murder, was arrested following a two-year investigation but was subsequently found not guilty at a second trial due to lack of evidence.

In later years, the spotlight of suspicion fell on Jonathan Moi, one of former President Daniel arap Moi’s sons, for his possible role in the murder. Jonathan Moi however, died of cancer in April 2019.

In 1991 a book by John Ward, ‘The Animals are Innocent – The Search for Julie’s Killers’, was published and he had just completed a second book shortly before his death. It is also believed that Netflix are working on a 10-part film based on the murder of Julie Ward.