The Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Dr. Abraham Korir Singoei says he is ‘deeply grateful’ after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to postpone the execution of a Kenyan man accused of killing his workmate in 2011. Stephen Munyakho is said to have caused the death of a colleague following a scuffle back in April 2011.
In a post on X on Monday, the PS says the decision comes on the back of a lengthy negotiation process to have the execution charge thrown out and to have the affected families lower their monetary demands.
Stephen Munyakho has spent 13 years in different Saudi prisons and was due to be executed on Wednesday this week (May 15, 2024).
The PS further added that authorities in Saudi Arabia and the Kenyan side had agreed to postpone Stephen Munyakho execution to allow for further negotiations into the circumstances surrounding the death of his colleague.
At the time of the incident, the 37-year-old Munyakho was sentenced to death by sword after being involved in a fight with a colleague who later succumbed to his injuries.
The PS said, “I am deeply grateful to inform (you) that authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have kindly granted our request to postpone the impending execution of Stephen Munyakho (now known as Abdulkareem), to allow for further negotiations between all parties. Stephen was due to be executed on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.”
Mr Korir said that both parties will work together towards an amicable solution.
“As we devise strategies to bring this matter to a more acceptable conclusion, and thereby giving both families the closure they so urgently need and deserve, we shall continue to lean on the warm and solid friendship that we have with our Saudi partners, as well as on the goodwill of all Kenyans. In the coming days, we shall be engaging stakeholders in Nairobi and Riyadh, including representations from our religious leadership, to agree on the next urgent steps. I wish to extend gratitude to our teams – both at the Ministry Headquarters and our Mission in Riyadh – for their tireless efforts,” he added.
What Happened To Stephen Munyakho
Stephen Bertrand Munyakho also called Stevo, is a Kenyan citizen. He migrated to Saudi Arabia in 1996 at the age of 22 after he secured a job. He later obtained formal residence in the Kingdom.
In early 2011, Munyakho is said to have engaged in a fight at his place of work with a fellow migrant Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh from Yemen who later succumbed to injuries in a hospital in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
As a result, Munyakho was jailed, languishing in several prisons in the Arab country for the last thirteen years after he was convicted of murder. He is currently incarcerated at Shimeisi Prison in Makkah region.
His family says that Munyakho who was also injured during the altercation was initially convicted with manslaughter and handed a five-year jail term on April 9, 2011, in the case that lasted for six months.
The victim’s family appealed the verdict in a Shariah Court, and in June 2014, the initial sentence was upgraded to the death penalty during the appeal case that lasted two years and eight months.
The family was also given an option of paying Sh400 million as blood money to the victim’s family but it negotiated the amount downwards to Sh150 million to save Munyakho from execution.
Munyakho’s family then launched a campaign dubbed Bring Back Stevo to rally Kenyans to raise money so that he can be released from jail.
The family also appealed to President William Ruto to intervene in the matter urging him to apply his authority and influence to help secure the release of Munyakho or plead for an extension of the May 15 deadline to give the family more time to raise the money.
