Keegan's family says suspicions around the photo-journalist's death remain. Cliff Taylor reports.
The Family of murdered New Zealand photo-journalist Trent Keegan are considering launching their own investigation into his mysterious death in Kenya.
The 33-year-old's badly beaten body was found in a ditch in the capital Nairobi last
month. His laptop and camera had been stolen, but his wallet had not been touched.
Trent had been working on a sensitive story in neighbouring Tanzania involving allegations that a safari company had removed indigenous Maasai from their land.
Shortly before his death he told friends and family he had been "visited" by security services connected with the company.
"It wasn't a simple mugging," sister Nikki told the Herald on Sunday last night. "There are so many suspicious questions into an ulterior motive. It doesn't add up."
She said Trent had talked about what was happening to the Maasai. "They are being beaten, hurt and even killed. And for what? For greed. It needs to be exposed."
Nairobi police have launched a murder inquiry, but more than three weeks later there has been no conclusion, despite unconfirmed reports two men had been arrested.
Nikki said there were "odd" elements to the case, which fuelled the view it was not a simple mugging in the city known as Nairobbery.
She said Trent's body was found in a "nice" part of the city, near the Parliament buildings early in the morning. It was on a busy road with CCTV cameras nearby.
It was not en-route to his flat and Nikki said there was no reason for him to be there. He still had his wallet, passport, credit cards, cash, driving licence and shoes, which was also unusual for a mugging.
Trent was last seen by a friend in a bar at about 9.30pm the previous day and had phoned his girlfriend 10 minutes later.
He had only recently arrived in Nairobi from Tanzania, and Nikki said the family had been calling him every day to ensure he was okay.
"I don't think we suspected he was in harm's way, but we were just being really cautious."
The International Committee to Protect Journalists is now investigating the case.
Nikki would not criticise the Kenyan police, but said it was "difficult to be happy with an investigation 10,000 miles away".
"We are working with our own sources to make sure the investigation is being carried out and is ongoing," she said. "We may have to look into employing somebody."
