Stephen Munyakho to marry fiancée who waited for 14 years

By Newsflash Writer

The Kenyan man who narrowly escaped execution in Saudi Arabia after spending 14 years behind bars is now set to marry his longtime fiancée, who waited for him throughout his time in custody.

Stephen Bertrand Munyakho, also known as Abdulkareem, 51, says that during the darkest years of his incarceration following a fatal workplace altercation in 2011, three women sustained him: his mother, his grandmother and his South African fiancée, whom he met while working in Saudi Arabia.

“The support I received from my mother, my grandmother and my fiancée kept me going. It gave me hope to press on,” Munyakho recalls. His grandmother, however, did not live to see his return. “She had promised to dance with her walking stick when I came back,” he says softly. “That was not to be.”

Homecoming once thought impossible

His mother, Dorothy Kweyu — a respected writer and editor now in her 70s — was at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on July 29 when her son finally returned home. F

or Munyakho, the moment felt unreal. Since June 2014, when he was sentenced to death, he had lived with the daily fear that his name would be called for execution. Instead, he stepped onto Kenyan soil for the first time since 2009 — alive and free.

Among those present was Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei, who had earlier promised Ms Kweyu that Christmas 2024 would be her last with her firstborn still in prison. “It was fulfilled in perfect time. God is great,” she said.

President Samia’s pledge-like assurance became symbolic of a journey that had tested faith, endurance and diplomacy.

Woman who never left

Then there is the fiancée — a Johannesburg-based medic whose name Munyakho has chosen to keep private. Speaking 140 days after his return, he described her as extraordinary. “She has stood by me for over 14 years without wavering,” he said.

Work commitments prevented her from travelling to Kenya to receive him in July. “It was peak season for her. But we’re looking forward to that reunion,” he said, adding that their relationship endured severe trials but “stood on a rock.”

Asked about marriage, Munyakho was clear: “That’s where I’m heading.” He reasoned that if marriage was not their destiny, “she wouldn’t have waited that long.”

He likened his story to Nelson Mandela’s, whose wife Winnie waited through his 27 years in prison. “She waited 27 years. This is half of that,” Munyakho noted.

Before his imprisonment, Munyakho was already a father of three children, now aged 32, 30 and 25, whom he had long before meeting his fiancée.

From death row to a miracle rescue

Munyakho’s case became one of Kenya’s most dramatic stories of 2025. His family, with backing from the government, media organisations and Kenyans in Saudi Arabia, struggled to raise Sh150 million in “blood money” required under Sharia law to spare him execution. If the sum was not raised, the victim’s family insisted on his death.

After months of public appeals and fundraising fatigue, salvation came unexpectedly. In March, Supkem chairman Hussein ole Naado announced that the Muslim World League had paid $1 million (about Sh129 million) to secure Munyakho’s freedom.

By then, only a sixth of the required funds had been raised. Munyakho says the public generosity humbled him deeply. “People denied themselves for me — people who barely knew me,” he said.

Ms Kweyu described the bailout as “the miracle of the century,” noting it came at the lowest point of the fundraising drive. “Then bang — the miracle happened,” she said.

Since his return, Munyakho has undergone medical checks and therapy, addressing high cholesterol and blood pressure linked to years of inactivity in prison. He is now writing a book based on 12 diaries he kept during incarceration and is exploring farming and writing as income-generating ventures.

Converted to Islam in 2011 by choice, Munyakho says he found answers in faith and feels fully accepted in Kenya. “I have never felt out of place,” he said.

As Christmas approaches, his family is celebrating a long-awaited reunion — and looking ahead to a wedding once thought impossible. “To me, I’ve never lost,” Munyakho says. “I believe something good is still coming.”