Stephen Munyakho with his brother, Cyprian (left) during annual leave from his work station in Saudi Arabia, with their mother, Dorothy Kweyu.
On August 13, 2024, Kenyan Muslim leaders converged at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi to host World Muslim League leader Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa who was in the country for a two-day visit.
The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem), a member of the supreme council of the league, had hosted Dr Karim to sign a deal to work together on various issues that touch on the Muslim faith.
When Supkem leader Hassan Ole Naado took to the podium, he pleaded for the case of a Kenyan who was facing decapitation for manslaughter in Saudi Arabia.
Stephen Betrand Munyakho, 50, was convicted in 2012 after an altercation with a Yemen friend, Abdulhalim Mujahid Makrad Saleh, an incident that resulted in death in 2011.
Munyako was to be executed on May 15 last year after spending 13 years in various prisons in the Arab country.
However, he got a reprieve after his Kenyan family was granted more time to raise Sh129.5 million in blood money to secure a pardon from the victim’s family.
According to Mr Naado, Supkem felt the issue could be solved by the Muslim body, and he gave it a try during Dr Karim’s visit during which he was hosted by President Ruto at State House Nairobi.
“I told Dr Karim and those who were present that there was a Kenyan who was facing death in Saudi Arabia and if we could help solve the issue either by fundraising or intervention. My concern was that the issue could jeopardise the good relations between the two countries,” Mr Naado said in an interview with the Nation on Thursday.
“After the event, we chatted with him on the sidelines and he promised to help by taking up the matter, and again when he left on his final day, I was at the airport to remind him of the same and he obliged.”
The official would then, through a letter, follow up on the issue at World Muslim League headquarters in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday this week, he was informed that the amount had been paid a month ago by Abdulwahab Alsheri, the Assistant Secretary-General for Corporate Communications at the World Muslim League.
“My appreciation goes to the leadership of the league because they listened to us as a member of the council of the World Muslim League and acted. This was not an easy case and the amount was very huge."
"This has even made the relations between Kenya and Saudi Arabia stronger, and I thank Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Kenya Khalid Al Salman for his support,” said Naado.
Munyakho, known to his friends as Stevo, was a warehouse manager at the Red Sea Tourist resort before he was caught up in the near-death ordeal.
He will be back in Kenya after some time because the judicial process has to still take its course for him to be free.
“After receiving the blood money, the family has to go back to court and initiate another judicial process, saying the issue is sorted and now that is what we are waiting for. You negotiate with the family and not in the court,” said Mr Ole Naado.
He revealed that he had spoken to Munyakho’s mother, journalist Dorothy Kweyu, who has appreciated the kind gesture from Supkem and the World Muslim League and is looking forward to a reunion with her son.
While fighting for their son’s release, the family had launched a campaign “Let’s Bring Back Stevo” to prevent his execution and so far a round of Sh15 million had been raised.
