Margaret Nduta, A Kenyan Woman from Murang’a was Charged with Drug Trafficking after She Was Arrested at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam With two Kgs of Cocaine.
Nduta, who is set to be Executed today, 8PM, was hired in July 2023 by a fellow Kenyan, only identified as ‘John’ apparently a Stranger, to transport a suitcase to Laos, a country in Asia.
According to the indictment, she was instructed to hand over the suitcase to a woman in Laos and then return with unspecified ‘goods’.
Nduta was reportedly paid downpayment of $1,300 (approximately Ksh168,000) for the task, and her travel expenses, including plane tickets fully covered.
A balance of Sh133,000 was to be paid after the package is delivered safely.
According to Vietnamese authorities, Nduta’s journey involved traveling through multiple countries before she arrived at Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on July 14, 2023.
Nduta’s journey took her through multiple airports—Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Bole International Airport in Ethiopia, and Hamad International Airport in Qatar—without detection.
Due to a late arrival, airport staff assisted her in completing immigration procedures so they could help her book a flight to Laos.
However, during the process, customs officials discovered over two kilograms of illicit drugs concealed in her suitcase.
In her defense, Nduta claimed she was unaware that the suitcase contained drugs when she received it.
Prosecutors argued that this statement was an attempt to evade responsibility, asserting that she was accountable for the illegal substances she transported. The court ultimately found her guilty and handed down a death sentence on Thursday, March 6, 2025. With Her Appeal, set for March 12, expiring, she faces execution or “lethal injection” within the next few hours.
The family of Margaret Nduta has made a desperate plea to the government to save their daughter from the hangman’s noose in Vietnam.
Embakasi MP Babu Owino also urged president William Ruto to intervene, requesting the head of State to ‘exchange’ Nduta with one corrupt Cabinet Secretary.
Why The Kenyan Government May Not Be Able To Save Nduta
Sadly, the Kenyan government can’t help due to the following reasons:
- The Kenyan government has no treaty agreement with Vietnam that allows for a prisoner to be transferred to Kenya. There is no bilateral agreement.
- As of now, there is no Kenyan Embassy in Vietnam that could negotiate the transfer of Margaret Nduta.
- Vietnam’s law and the nature of the crime Nduta committed have severe penalties compared to other countries. This makes it very difficult for the government to intervene—unless they want the Vietnamese government to send their own criminals to Kenya to face justice there.
This completely bars Margaret Nduta’s chances of getting help from the Kenyan government.
How Nduta Could Be Saved By The Kenyan State
If the Kenyan government wanted to help Nduta, they would have to write to the Vietnam Embassy in Tanzania, which would then relay the information to the Bangkok Embassy in Thailand, which is the only accredited embassy that can directly communicate with Vietnam.
Later, for Vietnam to reply, they would have to send a message to Bangkok, which would then forward it to Tanzania, where they would have to find a translator before the message could finally reach Kenya.
However, the time for such a process is almost negligible considering the time left for Nduta’s execution.
Her deadline was March 12th, 2025.
