Dramatic new evidence hidden for nine years inside a police safe has emerged in the tragic case of Julie Ward – the British woman murdered in Kenya in 1988 in a crime that shocked the world.
Explosive new evidence has dramatically emerged in the tragic case of Julie Ward – the British woman murdered in Kenya in 1988 in a crime that shocked the world.
A bombshell document which could have led to the conviction of the suspected murderer was left locked inside a safe at London police station for nine years. It was ignored by investigating officers. Julie’s brother Bob told the Mirror it was a “conspiracy” and that the Establishment had deliberately covered up her death to maintain a good relationship between the UK and Kenya. The prime suspect in Julie’s horrific death was the son of then powerful and notorious Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi.
READ MORE: ‘I met Julie Ward just 24 hours before her murder in Kenya – it still chills me’
His playboy son Jonathan died of cancer in 2019 without ever being charged. Jonathan Moi always completely denied being on the Masai Mara game reserve – where Julie was killed – at the time.
But this new evidence – which the police had years before his death – shows he had lied and was there. A handwritten statement, from a camp official, placed him close to the scene at the time. Bob only discovered its existence in recent years. His dad John spent millions of pounds seeking justice for his daughter before he died in 2023.
Bob, who is carrying on the investigation, invited me to his rented garden shed to share the latest developments. Surrounded by tens of thousands of documents, and hundreds of boxes of files, Bob told the Mirror: “It’s a conspiracy. There’s been a cover-up right from the start.
“They’ve been lying over and over and over again. It’s time we told the world what really happened. Scotland Yard have sat on key evidence for so many years. We are always being told ‘it’s gone missing’ … and then again ‘it’s gone missing’ – it happens time after time. Scotland Yard have conducted a sham inquiry. It’s indisputable there have been lies. Dad used to say: ‘you can smell the bullsh*t but you can’t see it.'”
The existence of the statement placing Moi at the scene should have seen him interviewed by police before his death which may have led to him prosecuted. Publishing assistant Julie, 28, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, took a wildlife photography trip to Kenya in September 1988.
She was travelling with a friend but drove off alone to retrieve some camping equipment on September 6 and was never seen alive again.
When she was reported missing her dad flew to Kenya and hired a private plane to search the area. John and his wife Jan, both aged 89, died within weeks of each other in 2023, 35 years after Julie’s death. Bob said: “I was given this information in 2020 but it was during covid and then dad became unwell. We wanted to go back to Kenya to investigate it further – but unfortunately it never happened before Dad died.
“It’s time for it all to be made public now. Enough time has passed. People need to know the full truth. We formally spoke to the Police about this crucial witness statement in 2022. They were well aware of the fact that a witness placed Moi in the Masai Mara. They’ve done nothing since then. They’ve had enough time.”
The Mirror knows the identity of the witness and has read the full statement but we have agreed not to reveal the name for fear of reprisals even so long after the murder.
The witness told police: “I remember that Jonathan Moi and his party arrived very late…I definitely know that Jonathan Moi arrived at the site that night as I greeted him and spoke with him. I know that Moi was not in the Masai Mara for a safari.”
And went on to say that the next day, Moi and his friends did not return to the camp that night, adding: “This was unusual.” When Moi was finally questioned by Police he always denied being in the area. He said: “Throughout the month of September 1988 I was at my farm at Eldama Ravine” – which is over 110 miles away. He said: “I would also state that I have never been at the Masai Mara game reserve.”
Scotland Yard also seized a camp site register which Moi had allegedly signed – but it has mysteriously vanished. Bob was told it was also being held in the Met’s Lewisham safe, having been taken as evidence. After years of negotiations with the police he was finally given access to the safe contents five years ago.
He said: “I remember going up during covid. We met in an alley around the corner from Lewisham Police station. There was a list of items for us to pick up, including the guest register book. But when we got to the police station in Lewisham, it wasn’t there and the officer said they had never had it. Surprise, surprise, it had disappeared.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “In 2018 we exhausted all lines of enquiry and suspended the investigation into the murder of Julie Ward in Kenya, 1988. This decision was not taken lightly and our thoughts remain with Julie’s family, who were updated accordingly. We have been clear that detectives would consider any new information provided to them to determine whether it represented a new and significant line of enquiry.”
Bob said simply: “I want justice for Julie and justice for Dad. It’s a promise I made to Dad before he died.”