Stephen Munyakho’s picture from 14 years ago.
Stephen Munyakho, the Kenyan who had been on death row in Saudi Arabia will return home on Tuesday, bringing to a close a long and painful chapter for his family.
Munyakho, popularly known as Stevo, is expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after departing from Jeddah on Monday, July 28, according to travel documents seen by the Daily Nation.
His return follows a dramatic turn of events earlier this year when the Muslim World League paid the remaining Sh129 million “blood money” to secure his release after well-wishers had raised Sh20 million. The payment ended years of uncertainty for his family, who had struggled to raise the Sh150 million required to spare him from execution after spending 14 years in jail.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it is finalising logistical arrangements for Stevo's return.
On Thursday, Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said discussions with Saudi authorities were ongoing and expressed optimism that the journey back home was imminent.
Threat of execution
“We are working with Saudi authorities on logistical issues pertaining to his travel back home. Considerable progress has been made, and his return will likely be in the next two to three days,” he said.
For Stevo’s mother Dorothy Kweyu, the wait has been agonising. Speaking to the Daily Nation by phone on Thursday, she said her last conversation with her son was from a deportation facility in Saudi Arabia, although he was unaware of the exact travel details at the time.
Dorothy Kweyu at her Katani home in Machakos county on July 22, 2025 following the release of her son Stephen Munyakho from a Saudi Arabian prison, where he had been on death row.
For years, the threat of execution hung over Stevo after a 2011 altercation at his workplace led to the death of a Yemeni national, Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh. He had moved to Saudi Arabia in 1996 and worked his way up to become a warehouse manager at a Red Sea tourist resort.
The family's campaign to save him had seemed impossible.
“We had only managed to raise one-sixth of the amount over a year. Honestly, if it wasn’t for God coming through for us via the Muslim World League, it would have been mission impossible,” said Ms Kweyu.
Initially, the family had hoped to buy time—up to a year—to raise the full amount through diplomatic interventions and public appeals.
The unexpected payment in March came as a huge relief but the weeks that followed were filled with anxiety.
Stephen Munyakho's mother Dorothy Kweyu poses with an old family photo at her Katani home in Machakos County on July 22,2025.
“The money had been paid in March... We're now almost four months in,” she said. “At first, I thought everything would move quickly—maybe a fortnight at most. I didn’t expect it would drag into the fourth month.”
But still, she remains grateful.
“This journey has been an emotional rollercoaster. Joy, hope, anxiety—it’s been everything. But we thank God and everyone who stood with us.”
Stevo’s homecoming is expected to draw emotional scenes as friends, relatives and well-wishers gather to welcome back a man many feared would never return.
