Stephen Abdukareem Munyakho, a Kenyan warehouse manager who spent 13 years on death row in Saudi Arabia for the 2011 killing of a Yemeni colleague, walked free on Tuesday after the victim’s family accepted blood money and a Saudi court issued a “judicial decree” ending his sentence.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oi announced on X that Munyakho was released at 10 a.m. local time and immediately performed the minor Muslim pilgrimage (Umrah) in Mecca. Kenyan diplomats are arranging his return home.
Long campaign and $1 million settlement
Munyakho, now in his mid‑30s, was originally convicted of manslaughter but, on appeal in 2014, the charge was upgraded to murder, which carries the death penalty under Saudi Islamic law. His mother, veteran journalist Dorothy Kweyu, led a years‑long campaign that, along with Kenyan government lobbying and a donation from the Muslim World League, raised roughly US $1 million in diyya (blood money).
Under Saudi law, a murder sentence can be commuted if the victim’s family accepts compensation. The Yemeni relatives agreed earlier this year, clearing the final hurdle to Munyakho’s release.
Next steps
Kenya’s foreign ministry said it will disclose travel plans once paperwork is complete. Kweyu told local media she “rolled on the floor” with relief on hearing the news and looks forward to reuniting with her son after more than a decade.