Death in Kenya: The cover-up that failed a murdered British woman

When the charred remains of a young British woman were found in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in 1988, the Kenyan authorities tried to convince her father – and the public – that she had been killed by wild animals.

It soon became clear that 28-year-old Julie Ward had been murdered. But no one was ever convicted.

This is the story of how the crime was covered up by the Kenyan authorities, and of the Ward family’s belief that the Metropolitan Police did the same. Plus, of newly emerged evidence which puts the son of Kenya’s former president in the frame for Julie’s murder.

In this episode of The Daily T Investigates, the Telegraph’s Katherine Rushton revisits the cold case as part of a months-long investigation.

Read: Former president’s son implicated in safari murder of British woman: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/09/presidents-son-implicated-safari-murder-julie-ward/

Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Executive Producers: Louisa Wells, Cara McGoogan, Venetia Rainey and Adelie Pojzman-Pontay

Mixed by Elliot Lampitt

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

Original music by John Cadigan

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