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Elusive justice: Father and mother of murdered Julie Ward die days apart
Julie's father John Ward died on June 7, while his wife Jan Ward died on May 25 this year - both of undisclosed causes, according to British media.
Two brothers of Julie Ward, a British wildlife photographer who was murdered in Kenya in 1988, have taken up the fight for her justice after their parents, who spent the last 35 years trying to find her killers, died days apart.
Julie's father John Ward died on June 7, while his wife Jan Ward died on May 25 this year - both of undisclosed causes, according to British media.
Julie, then aged 28, died in unclear circumstances in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve while driving to collect her camping equipment in preparation for her flight home the following day.
Her remains, including her left leg, lower jaw and a lock of hair, were found in the reserve on September 13, 1988, seven days after she was reported missing.
British tourist Julie Ward (centre) who was killed in Maasai Mara Game Reserve 33 years ago.
Although the Kenyan police concluded that Julie had either committed suicide or been mauled by wild animals, Julie's father, Mr Ward, believed that his daughter had been killed and that the government, while covering up for the suspect, had arranged for the results of the government pathologist to be altered.
He would spend millions of shillings travelling to Kenya to investigate the case.
However, two detectives from New Scotland Yard, invited by former President Daniel Moi to conduct the investigation, claimed that Julie's car got stuck on the day she went to collect her equipment.
She was found by two game rangers, Jonah Magiroi and Peter Kipeen, who were suspected of abducting, raping and killing her.
Although the two rangers were charged, they were acquitted for lack of evidence.
Petrol-soaked bonfire
In 2003, journalist Aidan Hartley, in his book The Zanzibar Chest: A Memoir of Love and War, said that Julie had been held captive for days, gang-raped, then hacked to death with a machete and her remains burned in a petrol-soaked bonfire.
On one of his trips to Kenya, Mr Ward said that President Mwai Kibaki's government had made a formal statement to the UK inquest court in 2004 admitting that the government of his predecessor, Daniel Moi, was to blame.
He also stated that the Kenyan and British governments had conspired to “subvert the course of justice and that the murder could have been solved within two weeks had there not been any interference and cover-up”.
He explained that his daughter's brutal death had caused the family a great deal of anger and frustration, noting that his wife Jan had been the most affected.
Julie's brothers Tim, 61, and Bob, 60, have now taken over from their parents, who died within 90 days of each other.
They both believe their sister was kidnapped, attacked and murdered, then mutilated and burned.
They also accuse the Kenyan and British governments of trying to cover up the real truth about their sister's death, which they claim was carried out by the son of a prominent Kenyan politician.
In honour of their father's death and their continued pursuit of justice for Julie, the brothers are considering publishing their father's final book, which they hope will shed more light on her murder.
