The Kenyan government secretly paid Ksh120 million to the family of Julie Ward, the British woman murdered by Moi’s son, in a covert deal meant to bury a scandal that has haunted Kenya for decades.
The payment, done quietly and far from public scrutiny, was allegedly designed to make Julie’s father abandon his relentless pursuit of justice. New revelations expose a disturbing pattern of cover-ups, intimidation, and state interference that spans from Nairobi to London.
This investigation revisits the case that refuses to die and reveals how justice was quietly traded away.
Moi Govt Paid Ksh120 Million to Silence Ward Family
The Telegraph revealed that the Kenyan government wired £700,000—about Ksh120 million today—to John Ward in 1997. The payment was not publicly declared. It was executed off the record with the help of British intelligence.
Officials intended the payout to compensate John for costs he had incurred during his long fight to uncover the truth behind his daughter’s death. But the real aim, according to the report, was to convince him to let go of his push for a full murder investigation.
John never stopped demanding answers. He spent millions of pounds and decades fighting for justice before dying in 2023. The covert payout exposes a troubling reality. Kenya’s government preferred a silent cheque to a transparent truth.
New Evidence Contradicts Jonathan Moi’s Claims
For years, the prime suspect in the British woman murder case was Jonathan Moi, son of former President Daniel arap Moi. Jonathan strongly denied being at the Maasai Mara when Julie was killed in 1988.
However, police held evidence that proved he had lied. A handwritten statement from a camp official placed Jonathan near the scene of the murder. Julie’s brother Bob only discovered this crucial document recently, decades after the investigation began.
Jonathan died in 2019 without being charged. The new evidence confirms what Julie’s family suspected for years. Powerful hands shielded him from prosecution.
Pathologist Intimidated Into Reporting False Findings
The tragedy grew darker when Egyptian pathologist Dr. Adel Shaker revealed the truth about Julie’s remains. He first concluded that Julie had been killed by a clean cut, consistent with murder.
His boss altered the report.
Shaker was then pressured and intimidated into signing a false version claiming Julie died from an animal attack or lightning. He eventually fled Kenya, fearing for his life. During reinvestigations, senior police officials even dismissed Julie in degrading terms and pushed to frame her death as an accident.
Shaker said chilling words that still echo today. “This was the fate of one girl balanced by the fate of an entire nation.”
State Cover-ups Protected Powerful Individuals
Over the years, the Kenyan government charged several people, including game wardens and a head ranger. Every case collapsed due to what courts described as insufficient evidence.
John Ward insisted the failures were deliberate.
He believed Kenyan and British authorities wanted to protect powerful individuals linked to the Moi regime. The newly exposed payment of Ksh120 million fuels those suspicions. It shows that instead of delivering justice, the state quietly paid to erase a scandal tied to one of Kenya’s most powerful political families.
Decades later, the truth remains buried under intimidation, secrecy, and political protection. But the resurfacing of evidence and the revelation of the covert payout have reopened a case the state hoped Kenyans would forget.
