By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have said they will shift the execution of a Kenyan national, Stephen Bertrand Munyakho, detained in Shimeisi Prison in the Governorate of Mecca.
Munyakho, who was working in Saudi Arabia has since been renamed Abdulkareem.
He was engaged in a fight with his colleague who sustained injuries in April 2011 and thereafter sentenced to death by the sword.
After 13 years in different Saudi prisons, Munyakho was due for execution on Wednesday, May 15.
Kenyan authorities have since then engaged in talks with Saudi Arabia, pleading for leniency.
Saudi’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei on Monday however said his country has agreed to put the planned execution on hold pending when further discussions are finalized.
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“I am deeply grateful to inform (sic) that authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have kindly granted our request to postpone the impending execution of Stephen Munyakho (now known as Abdulkareem), to allow for further negotiations between all parties,” the PS said on X.
“As we devise strategies to bring this matter to a more acceptable conclusion, thereby giving both families the closure they so urgently need and deserve, we shall continue to lean on the warm and solid friendship that we have with our Saudi partners, as well as on the goodwill of all Kenyans,” he added.
Sing’oei said they will be engaging stakeholders in Nairobi and Riyadh, including religious leaders to chart the way forward.
“I wish to extend gratitude to our teams – both at the Ministry Headquarters and our Mission in Riyadh – for their tireless efforts,” added the PS.
