The Kenyan government has taken action to ensure the safety of Margaret Nduta Macharia, a 37-year-old Kenyan woman facing a death sentence in Vietnam for drug trafficking.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei announced the government’s intervention on Sunday after growing calls from leaders and citizens urging the state to step in.
“Nduta’s case is complex and difficult, but we are doing everything within our disposal to secure a reprieve for our national,” Sing’Oei said.
Nduta was found guilty of smuggling over two kilograms of cocaine and convicted by the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on March 6.
She had been arrested in July 2023 while transiting to Laos. However, her family says they only discovered her arrest and sentencing online on March 8.
Her mother, Purity Wangari, has urged the government to step in and facilitate her daughter’s repatriation so she can serve her sentence in Kenya.
“It was the first time my daughter was travelling overseas searching for greener pastures. I plead with the authorities to help bring her home, even if it means serving her sentence locally,” Wangari said.
She also claimed that Nduta was unaware of the drugs, as they were discovered in luggage that had been handed to her.
The case has ignited national outrage, with several leaders demanding swift diplomatic action.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka penned an open letter to President William Ruto, urging him to pursue clemency and Nduta’s repatriation.
“I appeal for your urgent engagement with the Government of Vietnam to plead for clemency on humanitarian grounds, seeking to have Ms. Macharia’s death sentence commuted to life imprisonment or an alternative penalty,” Onyonka wrote.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino also urged President Ruto to take immediate action in the case.
“The President has the powers to call the Vietnam President and help Margaret Nduta, who is supposed to be executed tomorrow,” Owino said.