Kenyan govt. making effort to save Margaret Nduta from death sentence in Vietnam

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has stated that the government is making every effort to intervene in the case of Margaret Nduta, a Kenyan sentenced to death by hanging in Vietnam after being found ferrying drugs.

“Thank you, Hon. @RichardOnyonka_, for your petition. Nduta’s case is complex and difficult, but we are doing everything within our means to secure reprieve for our national,” he said in an X post on Sunday.

Sing’oei also acknowledged Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka’s open letter to President William Ruto regarding the matter. In the letter, which was also shared on X, Onyonka pleaded for Nduta to be repatriated to Kenya to face trial under Kenyan law for the crimes she is accused of committing.

“Your Excellency, I appeal for your urgent engagement with the Government of Vietnam to:

1. Plead for clemency on humanitarian grounds, seeking to have Ms. Macharia’s death sentence commuted to life imprisonment or an alternative penalty.
2. Facilitate her repatriation to Kenya through diplomatic negotiations so that she can serve her sentence within our justice system.
3. Engage the United Nations and international human rights bodies to support Kenya’s plea for clemency and fair treatment of its citizens facing harsh penalties abroad,” the letter read in part.

Onyonka joins a growing list of leaders and Kenyans expressing sympathy for Nduta. Gatundu North MP Elijah Kururia and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino have also made public appeals, urging President Ruto to intervene.

On Facebook, Kururia shared what he claimed to be the response of the Vietnamese government regarding Nduta’s case, writing: “We understand that you sympathize with your citizen, but our stance and laws on drugs and corruption are severe. They apply fully to everyone who breaks them, including our own Vietnamese.”

However, this statement could not be independently verified.

Nduta was sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, after being found guilty of trafficking more than two kilograms of cocaine through the local airport while in transit to Laos in July 2023.