Free at last: A mother's 14-year fight brings son home from Saudi prison

For 14 long years, time stood still for Dorothy Kweyu.

Every sunrise brought no new hope and each sunset only deepened the pain of a mother’s worst fear—that her son, Steve Bartrand Munyakho, might never come home again.

But on a Tuesday morning at 10 am, miles away from her home, a new chapter began after Saudi Arabian authorities opened the prison gates for her firstborn son, ‘Stevo’, who was once destined for execution.

As Munyakho, a 51-year-old man, who left his motherland for the Gulf in his 20's walked into freedom, Kweyu lives to tell a long but thundering tale of persistence, prayers, diplomacy and undying love of a mother.

Munyakho’s release from prison was announced by Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Korir Sing’Oei.

“Steve Munyakho, the Kenyan national who has been on death row in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is free as at 10 am today pursuant to the full satisfaction of judicial decree,” Sing’oei wrote on his X account.

“Our Mission in Riyadh has confirmed that Steve performed his Umra (minor pilgrimage) upon release,” added the PS.

Munyakho now awaits his return home once his travel arrangements are completed.

According to the committee that ran a campaign to bring Steve back home, Kenyan diplomatic officials were travelling from Riyadh to Jeddah on Tuesday to receive Stephen from the Saudi authorities officially.

“The committee thanks all those who made Stephen’s release possible,” said Joseph Odindo, Chairman of the Bring Back Stevo Campaign Committee.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Hon Musalia Mudavadi, Principal Secretary Dr Abraham Korir Sing’Oei, Kenya’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, H.E. Mohamed Ramadhan Ruwange, SUPKEM Chairman Al-Hajj Ole Naado and Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, for their relentless efforts to secure Stephen’s release,” Odindo added.

Munyakho had spent more than 10 years behind bars in Saudi Arabia after he was convicted following a fatal workplace altercation with a Yemeni colleague in 2011.

Initially, Munyakho was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to five years, but the charge changed to murder upon appeal lodged by the bereaved family in 2014, handing him a death sentence under Shariah law.

Munyakho left Kenya for Saudi Arabia in 1996 in search of employment and he was lucky to find a job as a warehouse manager at a Red Sea tourist resort.

Unfortunately, his dreams to build a better life took a deadly turn in 2011 after he was involved in a fatal altercation with a Yemeni colleague, Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh, at his workplace.  

“Stephen was injured and later taken to hospital by police officers, before being charged in a court of law. He was sentenced to five years in jail for manslaughter. However, the aggrieved family appealed, and a Sharia court enhanced the sentence to execution,’ read the statement by the committee.

He has been in jail for 14 years and was most recently incarcerated at Dhaban Prison in Jeddah.

Fortunately, the family agreed to spare Munyakho’s life in exchange for a compensation amount of staggering Sh150 million (3.5 million Saudi Riyals).

Back home, the news was devastating but for Kweyu, a veteran journalist, despair was not an option.

She turned to what she knew best: words, determination and relentless pursuit for support. She refused to accept that her son’s story would end in execution behind prison walls in a foreign land.

“One day I asked, ‘Is there a way they can execute me instead of my son?’ But I was rebuked and told to stop talking like that,” Kweyu told The Standard in a previous interview.

She ran a campaign for mercy and with the support of friends, well-wishers, and government allies, she began the exhausting process of raising Diyah, ‘blood money’, as required under Islamic law to secure forgiveness and a pardon from the victim’s family.

At first, she managed to raise a modest 15 per cent after numerous public appeals and fundraising until August 13, 2024, when the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) and the Muslim World League shifted the tides.

Kweyu had personally visited Supkem offices and they immediately began engaging key partners in Saudi Arabia.

Supkem’s chairperson, Hassan Ole Naado brought it to the attention of the Muslim World League during a separate meeting of the two parties in Nairobi on August 13, 2024.

Kweyu told The Standard in an earlier interview that her son’s case was given special consideration, given that there was no premeditated intent to kill and Munyakho and the deceased were friends, save for the unfortunate incident. 

Consequently, the Muslim World League decided to intervene, authorising the payment of the full amount demanded by the family of the victim.

“The committee thanks all those who made Stephen’s release possible. We especially thank the Muslim World League for paying the bulk of the Sh150 million Diyah (blood money) to the family of the late Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh, whose death led to Stephen’s conviction,” said Odindo.

“We also thank all those who contributed to the initial fundraising efforts and who offered prayers for Stephen’s release,” said Odindo

After 14 years of appeals, prayers whispered into countless sleepless nights, Kweyu would finally see her son again. And as he prepares to jet back home, his journey is more than physical but symbolic, spiritual and one steeped in restoration.

“We shall provide further details regarding his arrival in the country. I commend all who have offered their support towards securing this outcome,” PS Sing’oei stated.