The family of Stephen Bertrand Munyakho alias Stevo can breathe a sigh of relief after his execution was temporarily halted this week.
Stevo, 50, was set to be executed by beheading in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, May 15, for the 2011 murder of a Yemeni man.
However, the stay of execution is only temporary. Dorothy Kweyu, Stevo’s 73-year-old mother, is still in the dark about the details of her son’s case from Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She continues her relentless efforts to raise the “diyah” or blood money, which, under Sharia law, could secure a pardon from the victim’s family. So far, public appeals have raised less than 5% of the required Ksh 150 million.
Government Intervention in Stevo’s Case
Korir Sing’Oei, a senior official in the foreign ministry, announced the delay of the execution on Monday. He said negotiators were working on “strategies to bring this matter to a more acceptable conclusion, and thereby giving both families the closure they so urgently need and deserve.”
Stevo moved to Saudi Arabia in his early 20s. Thirteen years ago, he was a warehouse manager at a Red Sea tourist resort. According to Kweyu, her son got into a dispute with a colleague who stabbed him with a letter opener. Stevo retaliated, resulting in the colleague’s death. Initially found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison, an appeal in 2014 changed his sentence to the death penalty.
Raising the diyah has been a long and difficult process. Initially, the family was asked to pay $2.6 million, but Kweyu successfully negotiated it down to $950,000. The court set May 15 as the deadline for the payment.
It is unclear if Munyakho has changed his religion while in prison. Sing’Oei’s statement referred to him as “Abdulkareem,” a revelation that surprised his family. Munyakho’s youngest child, 23-year-old Evans Mwanze, has not seen his father for over 20 years. The uncertainty of his father’s fate has been particularly hard on him.
The reality of execution in Saudi Arabia is harsh. Last year, 172 people were executed in the kingdom, according to official figures. Kweyu recalls a particularly dark moment when her son called her to say that one of his friends had been beheaded.
The Kenyan government has expressed gratitude to Saudi authorities for their cooperation. Sing’Oei promised that further negotiations would continue, involving stakeholders from both Nairobi and Riyadh, as well as religious leaders, to agree on the next urgent steps.
“We shall continue to lean on the warm and solid friendship that we have with our Saudi partners,” Sing’Oei said.
By Vivian K.