'It was just a mistake': Stephen Munyakho recounts fight that led to death sentence in Saudi

Stephen Munyakho, the Kenyan man who spent 14 years on death row in Saudi Arabia, has spoken publicly for the first time about the events that led to his incarceration, describing the 2011 incident as a salary-related fight that tragically spiraled out of control.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive show on Wednesday night, Munyakho — now also known by his Muslim name Abdulkareem — recounted the altercation with his Yemeni colleague, Abdi Halim, which ultimately resulted in Halim’s death and a murder conviction that saw him sentenced to death by beheading.

“This tragedy that happened was something that I cannot even tell how it happened because this Abdi Halim was a very good friend of mine. We used to work together,” Munyakho narrated.

He said the two were both working under the accounts department at a restaurant in Saudi Arabia at the time.

“We were very good colleagues and even at one time we had another project — the amusement park. He had two wives; the first a Thailand national; she had a daughter and I can remember Susan, I used to hold her in my hands,” he recalled.

Describing the fatal night, Munyakho said the altercation was sparked by a disagreement over his salary.

“It was a salary-related fight. I was supposed to go and collect my salary, but he was not willing to let me go. I ended up getting angry. He used words that were not very good and I could not take them. He is the one who started the fight,” he said.

Munyakho revealed that he had stab wounds on his hand and thigh from the fight, adding that the knife involved belonged to the deceased.

“The knife was his. After he used it on me, I used it on him," noted Munyakho.

He emphasized that the fight — which he described as the first physical confrontation of his life — was never meant to end in death.

Munyakho said Halim's death was caused not directly by the stab wounds but by delayed medical attention.

“I never ever thought someone could die in my hands. We happened to have a misunderstanding and it was my first fight in my life… I was known to be a peacemaker and my mother can testify," he explained.

“There was some stabbing which was not intentional. The main cause of his death was not stabbing but that he delayed going to hospital and so he lost a lot of blood. It was just a mistake.”

The incident occurred on the night of April 9, 2011 — exactly 16 years after Munyakho had first travelled to Saudi Arabia.

“When I was told he had passed on, I could not believe it,” he said.

Munyakho returned home to Kenya early Tuesday morning after a protracted legal battle in Saudi Arabia, where his initial manslaughter conviction was later upgraded to murder, resulting in a death sentence.

His execution was stayed after the victim’s family agreed to accept diyya (blood money) — a financial compensation allowed under Islamic law.

With support from the Kenyan government and the Muslim World League, Ksh.129 million was raised to secure his release. He was freed on July 22, 2025, after completing all judicial processes and performing Umrah, before being deported to Kenya.