Saudi Arabia postpones execution of Kenyan man

Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing'oei.

Kenya has successfully negotiated for the postponement of the execution of a fifty-year-old Kenyan male adult in Saudi Arabia.

Stephen Munyakho, the first born son to veteran journalist Dorothy Kweyu, was to be executed this coming Wednesday, May 15.

He is linked to the death of a Yemeni co-worker in 2011.

According to foreign affairs PS Korir Sing’oei, who made the announcement, there has been an intense engagement between Nairobi and Riyadh since the matter came to light.

“I am deeply grateful to inform 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,” reads the statement published on X.

Stephen is serving a death sentence following a guilty verdict issued under Sharia law in a court process that the family feels was unfair.

The family of the deceased man is demanding Kshs 123 million ‘blood money’, which is the compensation payable to the kin of a murder victim under the Sharia law, to let Stephen live.

Stephen’s family, unable to raise the colossal amount demanded, had appealed to Kenyans to help raise the money even as diplomatic engagements continued.

Following the postponement, the Kenyan government says it will ramp up its efforts in the negotiations by involving key stakeholders including religious leaders, both in Nairobi and Riyadh.

According to PS Sing’oei, plans are being put in place to put the matter to a 'more acceptable conclusion' that will ensure Stephen’s family and that of the deceased find closure.