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Family and friends of Stephen Munyakho Abdulkareem gathered at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Monday night to welcome him home after 14 long years on death row in Saudi Arabia.
Munyakho, who arrived shortly before midnight aboard a flight from Jeddah, was received with tears, hugs, prayers, and ululations in a deeply emotional homecoming.
Now known as Abdulkareem after converting to Islam during his incarceration, he emerged from the arrivals terminal visibly overwhelmed yet joyful.
For his loved ones, many of whom had feared they would never see him again, his return was nothing short of miraculous.
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A mother's unrelenting fight for her son
Among those who embraced him tightly at the airport was his mother, the woman who had become the face of his struggle for justice.
Family and friends who went to receive Stephen Munyakho at the JKIA
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For over a decade, she fought tirelessly for her son’s freedom petitioning authorities, mobilising the community, and leading fundraising efforts to raise the required compensation to secure his release.
Her pain and perseverance had become a symbol of unwavering maternal love, and her joy on Monday night was impossible to miss.
The tragedy that sparked a legal ordeal
Munyakho’s journey through the Saudi legal system began in April 2011, when a dispute with his Yemeni colleague, Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh, turned fatal.
At the time, Munyakho was working as a warehouse manager. He was initially sentenced to five years for manslaughter, but the charge was later upgraded to murder, and he was sentenced to death by beheading.
His life was spared when the victim’s family agreed to accept diyya blood money under Islamic law, making it possible for the sentence to be commuted.
Stephen Munyakho on a plane back to Kenya
Government support and intervention
The turning point in his case came when Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi intervened by appealing directly to the Saudi Foreign Minister.
With the help of the Muslim World League and the Kenyan government, Sh129 million was raised to settle the compensation claim.
On July 22, 2025, Munyakho was officially granted his freedom. Before returning home, he performed Umrah (the minor pilgrimage) in Mecca and was transferred from Shimeisi Prison in the Mecca Governorate to a deportation centre, where he awaited final clearance.
A message of gratitude and healing
In a short but heartfelt address at JKIA, Munyakho expressed deep gratitude to those who had stood by him through the darkest period of his life.
“I’m glad to be back home. My presence here today is nothing short of a miracle, and I want to begin by thanking Allah for the gift of life,” he said.
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He also extended his appreciation to the many Kenyans who supported him: “Some of you I know, but the vast majority, in your tens of thousands, were simply touched by the misfortune of a total stranger.”
Also present to receive him at JKIA was Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei.