Stephen Munyakho back in Kenya today after 14-year jail term in Saudi Arabia

Munyakho, now called Abdulkareem, was jailed in Shimeisi Prison in the Governorate of Mecca in 2011 and was freed on July 22, 2025, upon satisfaction of judicial decree.

The Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary said in a statement on Monday that Munyakho will land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 11 pm from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He was initially set to return home on July 23, 2025 but his transfer was postponed.

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

Initially, he was sentenced to five years for manslaughter, but an appeal changed the charges to murder, carrying the death penalty. 

The death sentence was, however, deferred after the deceased's family accepted diyya (blood money) as payment. 

Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi later intervened by writing to the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia and the execution was deferred. 

Earlier in the year, the family received Ksh.129 million from the government and a charity, the Muslim World League. 

This facilitated Munyakho's release and he was able to perform Umrah (minor pilgrimage) before being transferred from the prison to a deportation centre awaiting clearance for immediate deportation.