The family of Steve Munyakho, a Kenyan migrant imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, is once again appealing for donations to help cover the Sh150 million court fine needed for his release. Munyakho has been incarcerated in various Saudi prisons for the past thirteen years following his conviction for killing a fellow migrant.
He is currently held at Shimeisi Prison in the Makkah region.
In early 2011, Munyakho, who is a father of three, was involved in a fatal altercation with Abdul Halim Mujahid Makrad Saleh from Yemen at his workplace. Saleh later died in a Riyadh hospital.
Following the incident, the victim’s family appealed the initial verdict in a Shariah Court. By June 2014, after a lengthy appeal process, the court revised the sentence to death. The family was also given the option to pay Sh400 million in blood money, which was negotiated down to Sh150 million to prevent Munyakho’s execution.
Saudi authorities set a deadline of May 15 for the fine to be raised, threatening execution if the amount was not paid. However, thanks to intervention from the Kenyan government, the deadline has been extended to November 20.
To date, Munyakho’s family has raised Sh11 million, of which Sh8 million has been sent to Saudi Arabia.
“This is an enormous amount and it’s definitely out of reach for our colleague Dorothy Musopole (Munyakho’s mother) and her family who are also humble means,” ‘Bring Back Stevo’ committee chairman and veteran editor Joseph Odindo said. With the government having informed them that there is no money to bail their kin out, the family has once again urged Kenyans to support them to raise the balance before the November deadline.
