Stephen Munyakho's mother Dorothy Kweyu has said that she has not fully forgiven her son for what he did.
However, the mother said that she understands her son, who
got provoked when the deceased said something bad about her.
“As Africans, we know how deeply words about one’s mother
can hurt,” she said.
“I am not forgiving him, please mark me, but on the spur of
the moment, that is how he was provoked.”
Munyakho’s mother, who was speaking during an interview, disclosed
how much she tried to reach out to the wife of the deceased, but with no
success.
“For me personally, I have wanted to appease myself by going
to the widow, it has been my burning desire to go meet her to express my deep pain
up to the end,” she said.
“But I was told that the lady is not ready to see you.”
She expressed her deepest empathy by saying she understands her because no amount of money can replace life.
Munyakho also narrated everything that transpired that day and said that he was remorseful that it happened.
“That thing has haunted me for all those years that I have been there. I never imagined that anybody would die in my hands,” he said
“Remorse has been there from that first day.”
Stephen Munyakho had been working as a warehouse manager in
Saudi Arabia when a dispute with his Yemeni colleague, Abdul Halim Mujahid
Makrad Saleh, turned fatal in April 2011.
He was initially found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years.
Still, the ruling was overturned on appeal, leading to a murder
conviction and a death sentence under Sharia law.
The sentence was eventually suspended after the victim’s
family accepted diya (blood money), and Munyakho was released on July 22, 2025,
after the conditions of the judicial decree were met.
Munyakho arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 12.50 am on July 29, 2025.
His return follows intense diplomatic efforts, financial contributions, and prayers from Kenyans both at home and abroad.
