After spending 14 harrowing years on death row in Saudi Arabia, Stephen Munyakho, also known by his Muslim name Abdulkareem, has broken his silence for the first time. Speaking candidly on Citizen TV’s JKLive show on July 30, 2025, the Kenyan national recounted the events that led to a murder conviction, describing the fatal altercation in 2011 as a tragic misunderstanding over unpaid wages.
“It was just a mistake,” said Munyakho, visibly emotional as he reflected on the incident that turned his life upside down. He had been working in the accounts department of a Saudi Arabian restaurant alongside his close friend and Yemeni colleague, Abdi Halim. A dispute over his salary escalated into a physical confrontation that ended in Halim’s death.
“He was a good friend. We even had joint ventures like an amusement park. I knew his family well, including his daughter Susan. I used to carry her in my arms,” Munyakho recalled with sorrow.
The confrontation reportedly began when Halim refused to allow Munyakho to leave work to collect his salary. According to Munyakho, Halim’s provocative words and physical aggression triggered a fight — the first of his life. “He started it. He used a knife — his own — and stabbed me on the hand and thigh. I took it from him and defended myself,” he said.
Munyakho stressed that he never intended to kill Halim and insisted that the fatality was caused not by the stab wounds, but by the delay in getting medical help. “He bled too much. Had he gone to the hospital sooner, maybe he would’ve survived.”
The tragic incident occurred on April 9, 2011, exactly 16 years after Munyakho first arrived in Saudi Arabia for work. Initially convicted of manslaughter, the charges were later escalated to murder, resulting in a death sentence by beheading.
For over a decade, Munyakho awaited execution, until a lifeline emerged through the Islamic legal provision of diyya — blood money — allowing families of victims to accept financial compensation in lieu of capital punishment.
Backed by the Kenyan government and the Muslim World League, a staggering Ksh.129 million was raised to pay the compensation demanded by Halim’s family. After fulfilling all legal procedures and performing the Umrah pilgrimage, Munyakho was officially released on July 22, 2025, and deported back to Kenya early Tuesday morning.
“I never imagined someone would die by my hands. I was always known as a peacemaker. My mother can testify to that,” Munyakho told the nation in his emotional appearance.
His release marks the end of a long and painful chapter — one filled with regret, redemption, and the resilience of a man caught in a foreign legal system, seeking a second chance at life.