Kenya Saves Convicted Kenyan In Saudi Arabia From Execution
Stephen Munyakho, now known as Abdulkareem, who was convicted of murder in Saudi Arabia, is expected to live for at least another year.
This comes after the Kenyan government successfully negotiated an extension to the date he was scheduled for execution.
Munyakho was scheduled to be executed on November 26, 2024, following his incarceration in Shimeisi Prison in the Governorate of Mecca. Munyakho has since served 13 years in various Saudi prisons.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said on Thursday that negotiations between the Kenyan Mission in Riyadh, Saudi authorities, and the grieving widow whose son was murdered resulted in an extension of the execution date.
According to the PS, this extension will help facilitate the settling of outstanding obligations.
I am pleased to inform that after strenuous negotiations between our Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Authorities and the Widow, the impending execution of judgement against Stephen Munyakho (Abdulkareem) due for November 26, 2024 has been postponed for another one year to allow parties…
— Korir Sing'Oei (@SingoeiAKorir) October 24, 2024
“I am pleased to inform that after strenuous negotiations between our Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Authorities and the Widow, the impending execution of judgment against Stephen Munyakho (Abdulkareem) due on November 26, 2024 has been postponed for another one year to allow parties settle outstanding obligations,” the PS wrote.
The PS also expressed hope that the matter would be resolved soon, believing that Kenya and Saudi Arabia’s cordial relationship would allow the matter to be finalized.
“We shall continue relying on our two countries’ cordial relations towards concluding the matter.”
Sing’oei also expressed gratitude to Kenyans, partners, and stakeholders for their goodwill in delaying the case as Kenya seeks to clear its citizens’ names.
The 50-year-old was working in Saudi Arabia when he got into a fight with a colleague named Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh (a Yemeni national) on April 9, 2011.
The colleague was injured during the fight and died as a result.
Munyakho was convicted of manslaughter, but the sentence was later commuted to death after the deceased’s family filed an appeal with Saudi Arabian courts. He was sentenced to death by sword.
Since then, his family and the Kenyan government have worked behind the scenes to save him from the sentence.
Munyakho can avoid execution if he pays 10 million Saudi Arabia Riyals (SAR) (Ksh 150 million) as part of a “diya” or blood money settlement.
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“There was also the “diya” or “blood money” option – financial compensation under Islamic law – which is paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property destruction by mistake,” Dorothy Kweyu, Munyakho’s mother recounted to Daily Nation in an article dated March 9, 2024.
The family failed to raise the funds by the specified deadline of May 15, 2024.
While the suspect has one more year to fight, he has other options to consider.
These include reducing his sentence, transferring the case back to Kenya, or negotiating an out-of-court settlement between the two families, which would most likely include monetary compensation.
Kenya Saves Convicted Kenyan In Saudi Arabia From Execution
