{"id":53419,"date":"2025-03-16T19:05:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T19:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/kenya-pushes-to-halt-execution-of-woman-linked-to-drug-trafficking-in-vietnam\/"},"modified":"2025-03-16T17:55:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T17:55:46","slug":"kenya-pushes-to-halt-execution-of-woman-linked-to-drug-trafficking-in-vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/kenya-pushes-to-halt-execution-of-woman-linked-to-drug-trafficking-in-vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya pushes to halt execution of woman linked to drug trafficking in Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nduta was convicted on March 6, 2025, by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court after being found guilty of smuggling over two kilograms of cocaine through T\u00e2n S\u01a1n Nh\u1ea5t International Airport. <\/p>\n

She was arrested in July 2023 while transiting to Laos. Nduta claimed she was unaware of the drugs in her suitcase, stating that a Kenyan man had hired her to deliver the luggage. However, prosecutors dismissed her defense and held her accountable for the narcotics found.<\/p>\n

Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei said on Sunday, March 16, 2025, that he had engaged Vietnamese authorities in an effort to secure a reprieve for Nduta, following pleas from Kenyans on social media urging the government to intervene.<\/p>\n

In a statement shared on X, Sing’Oei confirmed his conversation with Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Minh Hang, where he conveyed Kenya\u2019s deep concern over the impending execution.<\/p>\n

He assured that Vietnam was considering the government’s petition to stay the execution and allow both countries to explore an alternative path to resolving the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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 execution to allow our two countries to find a path to resolving the issue. I am grateful for Madam Hang\u2019s assurance that our petition is under consideration by her country\u2019s authorities. In the meantime, our mission in Bangkok is actively following up the case,\u201d Sing’Oei stated.<\/p>\n

The case had sparked widespread concern in Kenya, with Senator Richard Onyonka petitioning President William Ruto to intervene. Onyonka urged the government to explore diplomatic channels to negotiate possible clemency or a repatriation arrangement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis distressing development calls for urgent diplomatic intervention to safeguard her 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 that Ms. Macharia\u2019s life is preserved and she is given an appropriate sentence in her home country under Kenyan law,\u201d Onyonka said.<\/p>\n

Sing’Oei acknowledged Onyonka\u2019s petition and reiterated that the government was making all possible efforts to prevent the execution, while admitting that the case was “complex and difficult”.<\/p>\n

\u201cNduta\u2019s case is complex and difficult, but we are doing everything within our disposal to secure a reprieve for our national,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nduta\u2019s execution is scheduled for Monday, March 17, at 8:30 p.m. local time, with her final meal set for an hour earlier. <\/p>\n

Kenya doesn’t have a diplomatic mission in Vietnam and is relying on its embassy in Thailand for consular support. <\/p>\n

Vietnam enforces some of the world’s strictest drug laws, including the death penalty for those convicted of smuggling or possessing over 600 grams of heroin or cocaine. It remains to be seen whether Kenya’s efforts will bear fruit.<\/p>\n

\"Margaret<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kenyan government has intensified diplomatic efforts to halt the execution of Margaret Nduta Macharia, a 37-year-old Kenyan national sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000083717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000083717,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20250316_103810.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20250316_103810.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20250316_103810.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20250316_103810.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20250316_103810.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20250316_103810.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000083717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53419"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53419"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}