Execution of Kenyan Detained in Saudi Arabia Postponed After Government Intervention

The family of Stephen Munyakho can now breath a sigh of relief after authorities in Saudi Arabia agreed to postpone his execution. 

In a statement on Monday, May 13, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei said the postponement of the execution will allow negotiations between parties. 

Munyakho was set to be executed on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

“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,” read the statement in part. 

The Foreign Affairs PS noted that Kenya would engage stakeholders in Nairobi and Riyadh including religious leaders to agree on the next urgent steps.

“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,” Sing’Oei added.

He further thanked officials in the Foreign Affairs docket and the Kenyan Mission in Riyadh for their efforts in the postponement of Munyakho’s execution.

Munyakho is said to have caused the death of Abdul Halim a Yemen national following an altercation in 2011 while working in Saudi Arabia.

He was charged with manslaughter before the charges were changed to murder.

The victim’s family then demanded Sh 400 million in "blood money," which was later reduced to Sh150 million after negotiations with Munyakho's family.