A team of representatives from Kenya’s embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, has reportedly traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam, in a last-ditch effort to prevent the execution of Margaret Nduta, who is facing the death penalty.
Nduta was sentenced to death by a Vietnamese court after being convicted of drug trafficking, with her execution scheduled for yesterday evening.
On Monday, March 17, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Korir Sing’Oei, confirmed that Kenya’s diplomats in Thailand had been dispatched to Vietnam to negotiate for clemency on behalf of the 37-year-old.
Sing’Oei also indicated that Kenya’s representatives would seek a delay in Nduta’s execution to allow further negotiations between the Kenyan and Vietnamese governments.
This development follows a phone conversation between Sing’Oei and Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Nguyen Minh Hang, on March 16.
Sing’Oei stated that while Nduta’s case was complicated, Nguyen had assured him that Kenya’s petition for clemency was under consideration.
“I had a phone call this afternoon with my counterpart, Madam Nguyen Minh Hang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, regarding the case of Margaret Nduta,” Sing’Oei said.
“I expressed the concern of the Kenyan people about the impending execution and reiterated our request for a stay of execution to give our two countries time to find a resolution.”
Sing’Oei’s comments came in response to a plea from Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka and other lawmakers, including Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, who called on President William Ruto to intervene in the matter.
In a letter dated March 14, Onyonka urged the Kenyan government to request clemency for Nduta and seek her repatriation to Kenya to face charges in her home country.
Nduta was sentenced to death by lethal injection on March 6 after being found guilty of trafficking two kilograms of cocaine.
She was reportedly working for a man named John, who instructed her to deliver a suitcase to a woman in Laos.
Before her arrest in Hanoi, Nduta had successfully passed through three airports.
In her defense, Nduta claimed she was unaware that drugs were hidden in her suitcase.
Her case has sparked significant concern in Kenya, and the government continues to intensify efforts to secure her release.
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