Kenyan officials are making a last-minute effort to save Margaret Nduta, a 37-year-old Kenyan woman sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking.
A team from Kenya’s embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, has traveled to Hanoi to plead for clemency. Nduta was found guilty of smuggling two kilogrammes of cocaine and was set to be executed by lethal injection on March 17, 2025.
According to Citizen TV, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Kipkorir Sing’Oei confirmed the intervention, stating that Kenyan representatives in Thailand had been sent to Vietnam to negotiate a delay in the execution.
The officials are also seeking further talks with the Vietnamese government about the case. Sing’Oei revealed that he had spoken with Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Minh Hang, on March 16, 2025, to express Kenya’s concerns.
Nguyen assured him that the matter was under review. Kenyan leaders have also stepped in to appeal for Nduta’s life to be spared.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, in a letter dated March 14, 2025, urged the government to bring Nduta back to Kenya to face fresh charges.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and other lawmakers have also called on President William Ruto to intervene and negotiate her release.
Margaret Nduta was sentenced to death on March 6, 2025, after being convicted of drug trafficking. Authorities in Vietnam claim that she was working for a man identified as John, who instructed her to deliver a suitcase to a woman in Laos.
Before her arrest in Hanoi, she had reportedly passed through three international airports without being caught.
During her trial, Nduta insisted that she did not know there were drugs in her luggage. Her case has caused an uproar in Kenya, with many people calling on the government to step in.
Some argue that she may have been tricked into carrying the drugs, while others believe that Kenyan authorities should ensure she is given a fair chance to defend herself.
Vietnam has strict drug laws, and the death penalty is often given to those convicted of trafficking large quantities of narcotics.
Kenya’s government is now under pressure to secure a deal that could save Nduta’s life. With the execution date just hours away, the diplomatic push continues, and many Kenyans are anxiously waiting to see if the intervention will succeed.
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