Family Pleads for President Ruto’s Intervention in Son’s Death Sentence Case in Saudi Arabia

The fate of Kenyan national Stephen Bertrand Munyakho hangs in the balance as a looming execution date of May 15, 2024, approaches in Saudi Arabia.

Munyakho, born in 1974 in Pumwani, Nairobi, was convicted of murder under Sharia law and sentenced to death by beheading. His plight has galvanized a committee dedicated to securing his release, appealing to President William Ruto for intervention and assistance in raising the required “blood money” before the impending deadline. The chairperson of the Bring Back Stevo Campaign committee Mr Joe Odindo has urgently implored President Ruto to utilize his authority and influence to facilitate Munyakho’s release or extend the deadline, granting the family more time to gather the necessary funds.

The daunting task at hand is to amass a staggering 3.5 million Saudi Riyals (approximately Sh123 million) to save Stevo from his impending fate. In a concerted effort to raise the requisite funds, the committee has organized a fundraising drive appealing to well-wishers to contribute via Paybill No. 8056675 (Let’s Bring Back Stevo) or MPesa to +254 702 878717 (Dorothy Musopole). The family acknowledges and appreciates the ongoing endeavours by Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and other goodwill individuals in the quest to secure Stephen’s freedom.

Stephen Munyakho, the son of veteran journalist Dorothy Kweyu Musopole, has spent the past 13 years incarcerated in Saudi Arabian jails after being convicted of killing his workmate, Yemeni citizen Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh in 2011.