KEY POINTS:
Two men charged over the death of New Zealand photographer Trent Keegan in Kenya in May have been acquitted - leaving his family fearful the killers may never be brought to justice.
Speaking from the family home in New Plymouth, Trent's sister Nikki said news of the men's
acquittal on robbery with violence charges, was hard to take, but not unexpected.
"If they are who we suspect they are and had a part in Trent's death then it's absolutely wrong. On the other hand, I don't want anybody to be hung out just to appease us. It's so hard to know what to do and how you can get justice."
Keegan's badly beaten body was found in a ditch in Nairobi. His laptop and camera had been stolen, but his wallet had not been touched.
Two weeks before his death, the 33-year-old had been investigating allegations a US safari company had been mistreating Maasai people in neighbouring Tanzania.
The company, Thomson Safaris, has denied the claims.
Keegan said he had been harassed by police and local authorities over the story and had sent computer files to friends for safe-keeping, fearing something might happen to him.
Evans Ondieki, defence lawyer for the two accused, told the Herald on Sunday the pair had been acquitted "for lack of evidence to link them to the robbery beyond reasonable doubt".
He criticised the police investigation and said Trent's death should have been treated as murder, rather than a robbery. Ondieki believed more could be done "to bring the culprits to book", adding he and his colleagues were planning a memorial service and procession on the first anniversary of his death near the spot where Trent's body was found.
Photographer and volunteer worker Brian MacCormaic, with whom Trent stayed in Tanzania during his investigation, was not surprised by the outcome. "It very much looks like the police in Nairobi and the New Zealand High Commission in Pretoria are not interested in putting any more effort into finding the true killers of Trent."
Nikki, who has moved back to New Zealand with her husband from London to be closer to her parents, said she hoped the New Zealand Government would continue to seek information about her brother's death.
A new building in Kenya owned by the charity Sponsor an African Scholar (SAAS), which Trent had worked for, would be named after him. She is also hoping to set up a photography scholarship in his honour.
