KEY POINTS:
'Keep this safe mate. In case something happens." That was the chilling email message sent by New Zealand photojournalist Trent Keegan, 13 days before he was found murdered in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The following line of the message, sent to a fellow journalist in Britain, reads: "Police
are here, possibly to arrest me."
The 33-year-old sent the emails last month from northern Tanzania where he was researching claims of a dispute between a US-based safari company and local Maasai tribesmen.
His friend in Britain, Pete Jenkins, said Keegan's research had drawn the attention of the safari company's security guards, and left him fearing that his work would be confiscated - or worse.
The emails have come to light as Keegan's family, colleagues and New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) investigate his death in the belief it was more than a straightforward mugging.
Keegan's notes contain disturbing accounts of Maasai being shot, beaten, arrested and sometimes dumped far from their homes. Two pregnant women suffered miscarriages as a result of their treatment, he said.
He also alleged security guards and police were extorting large bribes from Maasai families to release their menfolk from detention.
Keegan told friends he feared for his safety as a result of his investigation and his messages convey a sense of urgency.
"There is rumour that the police are coming and so I'm sending this out to you ASAP," he wrote. "I'll send pics of people victims involved as quick as possible."
The following day he sent this email to Jenkins: "Much abruptness from ourselves and they backed off a fair amount. Meeting with the district commissioner today and vented at him... police hanging about though."
Less than a fortnight later Keegan's body was found in a ditch beside a highway, in circumstances which Mohamed Keita, of the CPJ, described as "very murky". He was struck on the back of the head with a blunt object.
Despite the announcement by Kenyan police that a suspect had been arrested, the CPJ said questions about the killing remain unanswered.
Although Keegan's laptop and cellphone were stolen in the attack, his wallet with 3848 Kenyan shillings ($80) was not taken.
His sister, Nikki Keegan, told the Herald on Sunday computer discs he used for his work were not on the inventory of items drawn up by police at his Nairobi apartment.
Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said he remained open-minded about a motive.
Karen Schwartzman, a spokeswoman for the company at the centre of the allegation, Thomson Safaris, denied claims the company or its employees harassed Keegan or had been involved in his death.
"Obviously it's a tragedy. But the fact this company has had its name associated with this nightmare is another tragedy."
Schwartzman denied any of the company's employees had visited Keegan and said he had not spoken to the company. "We don't employ security guards. We employ staff who walk the property to ensure there isn't anyone doing harm. There are no uniforms or firearms. It might be that officials questioned Keegan but we weren't there."
Schwartzman also denied there was a dispute between local people and the company. "We are aware there is one individual who takes issue with our purchase of a brewery. But the dispute is between that person and the Government. We have a very strong rapport with the community."
