Premium
Kenyan on death row in Saudi Arabia set free
Stephen Munyakho’s picture from 14 years ago.
Kenyan national Stephen Bertrand Munyakho, who had been on death row in Saudi Arabia has officially been released from detention.
Popularly known as Stevo, the first-born son of veteran journalist Dorothy Kweyu walked to freedom on Tuesday at 10 am, according to Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei. His release marks the end of a harrowing chapter that saw him incarcerated for over 13 years.
“Steve Abdukareem Munyakho, the Kenyan national who has been on death row in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is free as at 10 am today pursuant to the full satisfaction of judicial decree,” PS Sing’oei posted on X.
“Our Mission in Riyadh has confirmed that Steve performed his Umra (minor pilgrimage) upon release. We shall provide further details regarding his arrival in the country,” he added, commending “all who have offered their support towards securing this outcome.”
For years, the looming threat of execution hung over Munyakho until a family-led campaign Bring Back Stevo bolstered by generous well-wishers and diplomatic interventions, turned the tide. His mother once described the fight to save her son as a “mission impossible.”
"By March, just a few weeks ago, I was in a panic mode,” she previously told Nation. "The [contributions] trend started well, then it completely went down. We were getting as little as Sh100 per day thanks to one Ms Florence Awimbo, who, since the start of the collection, sent a hundred shillings every single day. I have never met her physically, but her generosity made me call her because we could access her phone number when she sent the money."
The Muslim World League stepped in and settled the remaining Sh129 million “blood money” required to secure Stevo’s release—a breakthrough that stunned the family, which had already begun planning a renewed fundraising drive after struggling to reach the Sh150 million target. Well-wishers had raised Sh20 million.
Munyakho had moved to Saudi Arabia in 1996 in search of work, eventually becoming a warehouse manager at a Red Sea tourist resort. But in April 2011, a workplace altercation led to the death of a Yemeni colleague, Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh.
Initially sentenced to five years for manslaughter, Munyakho was later handed the death penalty by a Shariah court after the victim’s family appealed.
The family had originally demanded Sh400 million in compensation but later agreed to settle for Sh150 million in blood money, a form of restitution under Islamic law.
“The family will authorise the Saudi Arabian authorities to execute Stephen,” the campaign committee warned in an earlier appeal, unless the target was met.
In October 2023, after diplomatic interventions and negotiations, the victim’s family granted a final one-year extension to allow more time for the money to be raised.
“If the full amount of Sh150 million is not raised,” said stand-in chairperson Wangethi Mwangi, “the family will authorise the Saudi Arabian authorities to execute Stephen.”
Throughout his incarceration, Munyakho expressed deep remorse. In one phone call to his mother, he said: “I beg you, I plead, let them know: I never meant to take another’s life.”
Mr Sing’oei confirmed that talks with Saudi officials were key in stalling the execution as negotiations continued.
With Stevo now free, Kenya’s diplomatic corps, the Muslim World League, and countless supporters are celebrating a hard-won victory for justice and mercy.
