By John McCusker

THE Omagh-born father of an award-winning photojournalist has refused to accept his son took his own life while on an undercover assignment in Zimbabwe.

Richard Mills Jnr, 42, was working for The Times newspaper when his body was discovered on July 14. Although the cause of death was given as suicide, his family has rejected the official line given by authorities in the war-torn African country.

Mr Mills had been working undercover in Zimbabwe and was due to return home the day after he died. A funeral service was held at Roselawn Cemetery in Belfast on Tuesday of this week.

"The official line is that he took his own life," Richard Mills Snr said this week.

"But we're getting conflicting stories. That's probably the most difficult thing. The death certificate says he died from asphyxiation due to hanging. We find that incomprehensible. It's totally out of character for him."

The Mills family is well known locally, Mr Mills Snr having grown up in Gortrush Park before moving to Belfast. Another member of the family, Tara Mills, a sister of the deceased, is a well-known journalist working for BBC television news.

Mr Mills Snr is also chairman and artistic director of the Belvoir Players who are due to bring their production of Sam Cree's Widows' Paradise to the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh next week.

Before travelling to Zimbabwe, Mr Mills Jnr had covered photojournalist assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

His father continued, "We have evidence from emails he sent to his wife Zoe that he was looking forward to moving into their new house in Scotland and he was looking forward to coming home to see his son Finn.

"Also, the morning before he died he signed a guardianship for a young Zimbabwean boy – the son of friends – who was going to school in Edinburgh.

"These are not the actions of someone contemplating taking their own life. You can see where questions arise for us."

As part of his assignment for The Times, Mr Mills had interviewed a white farmer who was almost beaten to death after speaking out against Robert Mugabe because land and property was being illegally usurped.

"He often took great personal risks for the sake of his craft," Mr Mills Snr said.

"Richard was always upbeat and positive. His mother and I worried about him. I asked him if his work had a profound effect on him and he said: 'You get used to it'.

"He tried to protect us to a certain extent. He did a piece on the most dangerous road in the world, between Kuwait and Baghdad, for example, and we only saw it after it happened."

Among the tributes paid this week was one from Martin Fletcher, former foreign editor of The Times, who extensively covered the aftermath of the Omagh bombing including the recovery of the severely injured Donna Marie Keys and Garry McGillion who later married.

Mr Fletcher sent a poignant letter to the award-winning photojournalist's wife Zoe, describing his colleague as a "wonderful, warm, funny, big-hearted man".