Kenya's race against time to halt Nduta's execution in Vietnam

The government has pledged to do everything possible to avert the impending execution of a Kenyan who was arrested and jailed in Vietnam two years ago for drug trafficking.

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei, in response to Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka’s appeal to President William Ruto to rescue Margaret Nduta, said that the government was working to resolve the matter.  

“Nduta’s case is complex and difficult but we are doing everything possible within our disposal to secure reprieve for our national,” Dr Sing’oei posted.

The PS also revealed that Nairobi had established communication with Hanoi and that he had talked with Vietnam Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Hang about Nduta’s matter.

“I conveyed to Madam Hang the anxiety of the Kenyan people on the impending execution of our national and reiterated our request for a stay of the execution to allow our countries to find a path to resolve the issue,” Dr Sing’Oei said, adding that Vietnam had assured Kenya that it would consider the petition.

According to the PS, other than the phone call, the Kenyan Mission in Bangkok is on the ground actively following up on the matter. 

In his petition to President Ruto, Mr Onyonka on March 14, 2025, urged the Head of State to initiate urgent diplomatic intervention to safeguard Nduta’s fundamental rights and explore the possibility of clemency and repatriation.

“While acknowledging the sovereignty of the Vietnamese judicial system, it is imperative that the Government of Kenya intervenes to ensure Ms Macharia’s life is preserved and that she is given an opportunity to serve an appropriate sentence in her home country under Kenyan law,” he said.

Rather than execute Nduta, the legislator called on the Kenyan State to plead for clemency on humanitarian grounds and seek to have the death sentence transmuted to life imprisonment or an alternating penalty.

He also wants Nairobi to facilitate its national's repatriation from Vietnam through diplomatic negotiations as well as engage the United Nations and international human rights bodies to support its plea for clemency and fair treatment of its citizens facing harsh penalties abroad.

“It is my sincere hope that through your (President Ruto) leadership, a diplomatic resolution can be reached to save Ms Nduta’s life and allow her to face justice in her home country,” the legislator said in the letter that was copied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Mission in Kenya.

Ms Nduta, who hails from Murang’a, hit the headlines two years ago when she was arrested in July 2023, charged for trafficking two kilos of cocaine through Vietnam on her way to Laos.

On March 6, 2025, she was sentenced to death by the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City after being found guilty of the offence. It is largely believed that she will be executed by lethal injection.

Last week, her mother, Purity Wangui, expressed her desire to travel to Ho Chi Minh City in the hope that she can get one last face-to-face with her daughter.

“I am waiting for some family members to volunteer to accompany me there. It does not matter how long it takes ... I must see her before they hang her,” she said before adding that she has no means of crossing the 8,100 kilometres from Murang’a to Vietnam.

The family also pleaded with President Ruto as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invoke bilateral diplomacy to bring Nduta back home.