Stephen Abdulkareem Munyakho: Kenyan on death row in Saudi Arabia freed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q8kq3z3glo

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Stephen Munyakho was in his 20s when he was sentenced to death

A Kenyan man on death row in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade has been released after a lengthy campaign to save him from execution, a Kenyan foreign affairs ministry official has said.

Stephen Abdukareem Munyakho was released under a "judicial decree", Korir Sing'oei posted on X, without giving further details.

His mother, veteran journalist Dorothy Kweyu, told local media that she "rolled on the floor" when she heard of his release.

Munyakho was working in Saudi Arabia when he was convicted of murdering a Yemeni colleague in 2011. The crime carries the death penalty, but after protracted negotiations, the victim's family agreed to accept blood money.

Saudi Arabia follows Islamic law, which states that the death sentence can be commuted if the deceased's family accepts blood money, known as dihya, as compensation.

Kenyan media reported that the family had received $1m (£742,000) earlier this year in a payment made by the government and a charity, the Muslim World League.

Munyakho's execution was postponed multiple times, following interventions by Kenyan officials.

Ms Kweyu waged a long and desperate campaign to save her son.

"This satisfaction is going to be with me for a while," the Star newspaper quoted her as saying after her son's release.

"This time, it is true. The ambassador [in Saudi Arabia] has confirmed it," she added.

Munyakho went to work in Saudi Arabia in his early 20s and 14 years ago was a warehouse manager at a Red Sea tourist resort.

Speaking to the BBC last year, Ms Kweyu said her son got into a dispute with a Yemeni colleague.

According to her, the workmate stabbed Munyakho with a letter opener, prompting him to retaliate by grabbing the same opener and attacking him. It resulted in the colleague's death.

He was initially sentenced to five years for manslaughter in 2011, but an appeal changed that to a murder conviction in 2014 - carrying the death sentence.

Sing'oei, Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, said that Munyakho had performed the minor Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca following his release.

It is unclear when he would return home.