Stephen Munyakho to safely return to Kenya after Muslim group paid Sh129 million fine

The son of  seasoned journalist, Dorothy Kweyu, who was on death row in Saudi Arabia, is expected in Kenya soon after Sh129.5 million was secured for his release.

The release of  Stephen Munyakho was revealed by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General, Omar Hassan, during Iftar at the state house yesterday.

He said the intervention was made possible through the intervention of religious leaders, Saudi Arabian authorities, and the Kenyan government.

Omar stated that the government sought the help of Muslim World League leaders, who helped to secure Munyakho.

“Last year, we brought the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, to State House. Through SUPKEM and President William Ruto, we made a passionate request to Issa of a Kenyan who was facing execution for murder, to try and see whether an intervention can be made. The ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Kenya and our ambassador to Saudi Arabia have confirmed that the request has since been honoured, the one million dollars has been paid, and the Kenyan will return home safely,” Omar stated.

According to the UDA SG, the efforts were made possible following diplomatic engagements between the two countries, which resulted in the settling of the pay.

Omar further issued a warning to Kenyans abroad to adhere to the laws of their respective countries where they are to avoid getting into trouble.

“Kenyans abroad must respect the laws of the territories where they are. Be it in Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, or Saudi Arabia. The government can intervene, but it has its limitations,” Omar warned.

His warning comes after the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who also doubles as the Foreign affairs CS, recently warned Kenyans to be cautious and avoid falling in traps as he urged them to be good citizens.

The CS stated that the laws of where Kenyans are apply when they do wrongs and not Kenyan laws.

“The moment you board a plane and land in another country, their laws apply according to where you are. Please respect the laws,” Mudavadi stated.

The son of the veteran journalist was convicted of the death of a Yemeni colleague with whom they had an altercation and got injured before dying later in 2011.

Munyakho was initially convicted of manslaughter in October 2011, but  his sentence was later elevated to the death penalty by a Shariah court in June 2014.

Under Sharia law, the victim’s family has the option to accept ‘diya’ or blood money instead of execution.

As such, in 2019, Saleh’s family agreed to a compensation of 10 million Saudi riyals (approximately Ksh 352.2 million), which was subsequently reduced to 3.5 million riyals (about Ksh 120 million) in November 2023.

Diplomatic interventions by the Kenyan government led to Munyakho’s execution being postponed multiple times to allow for the settlement of the blood money.

The initial execution date of May 13, 2024, was extended to November 26, 2024, and later postponed by another year to November 26, 2025.

Munyakho remains incarcerated in Shimeisi Prison in Mecca.

This comes as the Kenyan government has also begun interventions to save 37-year-old Margret Nduta, who was to be executed a few days ago after he was found guilty of possessing two kilogrammes of cocaine in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government stated through their deputy Foreign affairs Minister confirmed that the request of the Kenyan government would be considered.

The Kenyan ambassador to Bangkok later went to Vietnam and appealed, revealing later Nduta was doing well.