In September 1988, Julie Ward, a British tourist, lost her life while on a safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve. Her death investigation gained attention due to the efforts of her father, John Ward, who campaigned to convince the Kenyan authorities that his daughter was murdered and to find those responsible for her death.
The Beginning
Julie Ward embarked on an extended trip to Kenya in February 1988, leaving her home in England for seven months. She spent most of her time in the capital city of Nairobi but in September, she set out on a journey to the Maasai Mara game reserve to capture photographs of the annual Great Wildebeest Migration, one of nature’s most spectacular events.
Ward was accompanied by her friend Glen Burns from Australia, and they traveled in a Suzuki jeep. Unfortunately, the vehicle broke down during their journey, and Burns had to return to Nairobi. Ward stayed alone at the Mara Serena lodge while the jeep was being repaired.
The following day, on September 6, 1988, Ward drove the jeep to the nearby Sand River camp to retrieve her camping equipment. Tragically, this was the last time she was seen alive.
Investigating Julie Ward’s Death
After Julie Ward failed to return from her trip to the Maasai Mara game reserve, she was reported missing, and her father, John Ward, flew to Kenya to search for her. He hired a plane to survey the areas of the reserve where his daughter was known to have camped alone.
During the search, a pilot spotted Julie’s abandoned Suzuki jeep in a gully next to a river. John Ward went to investigate, and it was there that he made the gruesome discovery of his daughter’s burned and dismembered body in the ashes of a fire. This occurred on September 13, 1988, almost a week after Julie had last been seen alive.
Initially, the Kenyan authorities claimed that Julie Ward had been killed by a wild animal, such as a lion, in the Masai Mara game reserve. However, this theory was quickly called into question, as it did not explain the dismemberment and burning of her body.
A British pathologist was brought in to investigate Julie’s death, and he concluded that her body had been dismembered with a machete and then doused in petrol before being set on fire. This suggested that Julie’s death was a result of human violence rather than an animal attack, as the Kenyan authorities had initially claimed.
Julie Ward’s death sparked a range of theories about what had happened to her. One theory suggested that she had been killed by the son of a prominent politician with whom she was having an affair. However, this theory has never been proven, and the politician’s son was never charged in connection with Julie’s death.
Another theory, propagated by the Kenyan police, was that Julie had committed suicide. However, this theory was quickly dismissed by her family and friends, who knew that she was happy and excited about her trip to the Maasai Mara game reserve.
Despite the evidence pointing to foul play, the Kenyan investigators were reluctant to label Julie’s death a murder and refused to conduct a homicide investigation. This led Julie’s father, John Ward, to accuse the Kenyan government of wanting to cover up a murder in order to protect the country’s tourism industry.
John Ward, a retired hotelier, spent nearly £2 million on the investigation and made over 100 visits to Kenya.
Suspects and Trials
After years of campaigning by John Ward, the U.K. Foreign Secretary ordered an investigation by Scotland Yard in February 1990. The investigation suggested that two park rangers were responsible for Julie’s murder, but they were acquitted in a 1992 trial in Kenya.
In 1997, a new team of Kenyan police officers reexamined the case, and the head warden of the Maasai Mara at the time of Julie Ward’s death, Simon Makallah, was accused of murder and tried in court. However, in 1999, he too was acquitted.
The failure to secure a conviction in the case has been a source of great frustration for Julie’s family and friends, who have spent decades seeking justice for her death. Despite the acquittals, John Ward has continued to campaign for answers and justice, and the case remains unsolved to this day.
Credits: Wikipedia