Kenyan jailed in Saudi to return home after Sh129m fine paid - Omar

UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar has said that Stephen Munyakho, a Kenyan on death row in Saudi Arabia, is set to return home after a fine of Sh129.5 million was cleared.

According to Omar, the fine was cleared following a direct appeal for intervention by President William Ruto.

Speaking during the State Iftar dinner hosted by Ruto at State House Nairobi, Omar said the Muslim World League paid $1 million (Sh129.5 million) to facilitate his return home.

“The President made a passionate request regarding a Kenyan who was facing death by beheading for murder. The Saudi Arabian ambassador to Kenya and Kenya’s ambassador in Saudi Arabia have confirmed that the request has been honored.

“The $1 million has been paid, and the Kenyan will return home safe,” he said.

Munyakho, 50, was a warehouse manager.

He is said to have engaged in a fight with the colleague Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh- at his office on April 9, 2011. Saleh, who was stabbed in the left thigh and thumb, walked himself to a hospital where he later died.

A Saudi Arabian court convicted Munyakho of manslaughter in October 2011, a sentence that was overturned by a Shariah court, which enhanced it to murder in June 2014.

Since then, Munyakho has been a state guest in various Saudi prisons.

According to Sharia law, Munyakho is a candidate for being led to a butchering field for beheading by the sword.

The execution was delayed because one of the victim’s sons was a minor and had to attain the age of majority to give consent as per the Shariah law.

The execution date was initially set for May 13, but after a reported diplomatic engagement by government officials, it was postponed.

After negotiations, in 2019, the Yemeni family agreed to blood money amounting to 10 million riyals, equivalent to Sh352.2 million.

Further negotiations reduced the amount to 3.5 million riyals last November.