A nation publications freelance editor is in a state of distress after her son, Stephen Bertrand Munyakho, was found guilty of manslaughter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dorothy Kweyu’s nightmare began over a decade ago, on April 12th, 2011, when she received news that her son, who was working in Saudi Arabia, had been involved in a serious altercation with a colleague, resulting in the colleague’s death.

To date, Stephen, or fondly Stevo, has spent 13 years of his prime life switching between prisons abroad.

Stevo’s mother shared a column in the Daily Nation, narrating the ordeal to Kenyans. Initially, her son was tried for murder, found guilty, and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Insiders in Saudi Arabia suggested he might be released in 2.5 years.

However, the family of the deceased wanted a different approach. They appealed to the Shariah Court, invoking qisas or ‘reciprocal right to retaliate’. Essentially, they demanded that Stevo be sentenced to death by beheading for murder.

The case was reviewed, and Stevo’s initial sentence was overturned in 2014, with a new verdict: death by beheading. Dorothy Kweyu, a woman of humble means, was overwhelmed with waves of grief, agony, and defeat.

Fortunately, the sentence could not be carried out immediately. According to the law, the deceased’s child had to reach the age of 18 before they could consent to Stevo’s beheading.

“My son was sentenced to death by the sword, but this would not be carried out immediately because a child from the Yemeni family was involved,” she detailed.

The other option to resolve the case is ‘diya’ or blood money, a means of conflict resolution popular in Iran, Pakistan and UAE. Diya is paid to the victim in cases of bodily harm, murder or property destruction by mistake.

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Driven by a mother’s love, she stepped forward to do everything in her power to save her son from the impending execution.

“I remember the day 10 years ago when Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Harambee Avenue, Nairobi called me to collect the execution verdict that had just been relayed from Saudi Arabia,” Dorothy wrote.

However, the widow of the deceased was unwilling to negotiate with Ms Kweyu in any way. In fact, she made it clear that any attempt at communication would only strengthen her resolve and insistence on ‘equal retaliation’.

Dorothy Kweyu sought assistance from the church (PCEA St. Andrews), which then escalated the matter to the highest office in the land. However, they discovered that such powers did not influence Shariah law.

She prayed that the widow’s heart would soften and that she would consider the Diya option. Her prayers were answered when emissaries were sent to console the widow and persuade her to accept blood money as a settlement.

“I can understand the widow’s rejection of monetary compensation for her husband. No amount of money can compensate for life – any life.”

This option did not come cheap for the humble family living in Kenya. They had initially asked for Sh. 370 million (10 million riyals), but after government intervention, they came down to Sh. 130 million (3.5 million riyals).

Dorothy’s inmate son, Stevo, who keeps communicating through the gracious facilitation of Saudi authorities while in prison, informed her that such amounts of Diya are common and are often raised overnight in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“With one million Kenyans paying just Sh. 150 each, Stevo could rejoin his family in a day. Sh. 150 million is not money we, a family of humble means, can produce in my lifetime,” she pleaded.

The court in Saudi Arabia has set the deadline for blood money payment on May 15th. Kenyans in Diaspora, particularly in Saudi Arabia have raised Sh. 2.2 million (59,000 riyals) while the family and friends back in Kenya have contributed a total of Sh. 300,000 (8000 riyals).

Dorothy Kweyu is now reaching out to Kenyans, appealing for their help to bring her son back to their homeland and spare her the heart-wrenching ordeal of receiving her son’s beheaded body at the airport.