Saudi Arabia agrees to postpone Stephen Munyakho’s execution

Saudi Arabia has agreed to Kenya’s request to postpone the impending execution of Stephen Bertrand Munyakho, a Kenyan man incarcerated in Shimeisi Prison in the Governorate of Mecca.

Munyakho, who has since been named Abdulkareem, has spent 13 years in different Saudi prisons and was due to be executed on Wednesday, May 15.

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei on Monday said Saudi authorities agreed to put off Munyakho’s execution pending further negotiations.

“I am deeply grateful to inform (sic) 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,” the PS said on X.

“As we devise strategies to bring this matter to a more acceptable conclusion, thereby giving both families the closure they so urgently need and deserve, we shall continue to lean on the warm and solid friendship that we have with our Saudi partners, as well as on the goodwill of all Kenyans,” he added.

Sing’oei added that they will be engaging stakeholders in Nairobi and Riyadh, including religious leaders to chart the way forward.

“I wish to extend gratitude to our teams - both at the Ministry Headquarters and our Mission in Riyadh - for their tireless efforts,” added the PS.

Munyakho, 37, was working in Saudi Arabia and was sentenced to death by the sword after being involved in a fight with a colleague in April 2011. The colleague succumbed to injuries.