Thursday, July 31, 2025 - Stephen Munyakho, a Kenyan man who spent 14 years on death row in Saudi Arabia, has spoken publicly about the events that led to his conviction and long incarceration.
In an interview on Wednesday, July 30th, Munyakho
recounted that a fatal altercation with his Yemeni colleague, Abdi Halim, in
2011 stemmed from a dispute over salary.
He said he had intended to collect his wages, but Halim
prevented him from leaving, triggering a confrontation.
“It was a salary-related fight,” Munyakho explained.
“He used words that were not very good, and I could not take
them.”
He added that Halim initiated the fight by stabbing him in
the hand and thigh using a knife kept at their workplace.
“The knife was his. After he used it on me, I used it on
him.”
Munyakho stated that Halim’s death resulted not from the
stabbing but from a delay in getting medical attention.
Initially convicted of manslaughter in 2011, Munyakho’s
sentence was upgraded to death in 2014.
Years of diplomatic efforts led to Halim’s family accepting
reduced blood money - 3.5 million riyals (Ksh129 million).
He was released on July 22nd and returned to
Kenya on July 29th, where he was received by relatives, friends, and
Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’Oei.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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