Stephen Munyakho, a Kenyan national who had been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for manslaughter, is finally set to return home following a successful and months-long diplomatic intervention led by the government of Kenya.

The breakthrough, confirmed by the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, marks the end of a tense legal and humanitarian ordeal that had gripped Munyakho’s family and attracted national attention.

“Mr. Munyakho was released and is expected to return to Kenya as early as today. This outcome is the culmination of relentless high-level diplomatic engagement between Nairobi and Riyadh,” read the statement.

 The intervention was spearheaded by President William Ruto, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei, and the Ministry’s diplomatic corps.

The Prime CS Munyakho’s return now symbolises not just the end of a legal battle, but also the growing role of diplomacy in safeguarding the dignity and rights of citizens abroad, even in the most complex of cases.

Mudavadi had personally written to the Saudi Foreign Minister seeking clemency immediately after the sentence was issued last year.

“In July last year, while addressing the Senate, I confirmed that the Ministry had intervened to stop the execution. The execution was deferred and did not take place,” recalled Mudavadi.

The sentence, which was delivered in early 2024, was temporarily suspended following Kenya’s formal appeal. President Ruto personally raised the issue with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, urging for clemency and a window for negotiations with the victim’s family over diyya blood money compensation allowed under Saudi law.

Govt’s diplomacy relief

Eventually, the family of the deceased accepted approximately Ksh129 million in diyya, enabling Munyakho’s release.

During the prolonged negotiations, Prime CS Mudavadi and PS Sing’oei also worked closely with Munyakho’s family in Kenya to support their efforts and ease the burden of the substantial compensation demanded by the deceased’s relatives.

Upon release, and in a gesture coordinated by the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh, Munyakho was permitted to perform Umrah (the minor pilgrimage) before being transferred to a deportation facility, where he awaited travel clearance.

“Following his release yesterday, the Embassy prepared an Emergency Travel Document since his passport had expired during incarceration. The Saudi authorities have agreed to cover the full cost of his deportation,” Mudavadi noted.

Confirmation of his return flight is pending but is expected to happen within hours, according to the statement.

“I am pleased that Mr. Munyakho will soon reunite with his family. This case reaffirms our commitment to the welfare of Kenyans abroad,” Mudavadi said.

He also thanked the Saudi authorities for their cooperation and goodwill in resolving a case that could have ended with capital punishment.

The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs emphasised that the government remains firmly committed to defending the rights of Kenyans overseas.

It called the resolution a demonstration of Kenya’s growing diplomatic stature and the value of strategic partnerships.