OWN CORRESPONDENT, Nairobi | Tuesday 7.00pm.
A FORMER Kenyan game warden on Tuesday read an hour-long statement in a Kenyan court pleading his innocence in the murder of British tourist Julie Ward in Maasai Mara National Reserve 10 years ago. Shortly after his plea, Magistrate Uniter Kidullah ruled he is to stand trial as “there is sufficient evidence to charge the accused for murder”.
Simon ole Makallah, arrested for the murder in July, accused Julie’s father, John Ward, of manipulating the evidence which led to his arrest.
“The anguish these allegations have made on me is unbearable,” he said. “In Kenya history of criminal procedures, this will be the first instance where an interested party has participated in producing the evidence.”
Makallah said the mere fact that his search team found the body has been seized on to link him with the murder. “I did not have any motive to kill an innocent visitor in the park,” he said.
John Ward has campaigned tirelessly, battling bungled investigations and elaborate cover-ups, to bring his daughter’s killers to justice.
Makallah said it is regrettable that Ward, a hotelier from Bury St Edmunds, was using the death of her daughter to make money and for publicity.
He said he had been investigated by Scotland Yard and the Kenyan police who had clearly exonerated him of the murder. “At last, I now know I have an opportunity to prove my innocence and put my accusers to rest once and for all,” he said.
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