Margaret Nduta is coping, being treated humanely: Gov't says after Vietnam visit

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei has confirmed that a Kenyan team from Bangkok has secured travel Visas and made it to Hoi Chin Mihn Prison in Vietnam where Margaret Nduta, the Kenyan woman condemned to death for drug trafficking, is currently being held.

The PS revealed that Nduta is coping with the situation and confirmed that she has been treated humanely.

He noted that an appeal was filed for Nduta who was not represented by counsel during trial. He added that the appeal would be heard soon.

"In the meantime, we continue to engage our Vietnamese counterparts on other options towards resolving this difficult matter," he stated. 

He cautioned Kenyans to resist the temptation of being lured into drug trafficking, citing that "it is an extremely dangerous and costly misadventure."

The development comes as Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi assured Kenyans that his ministry was working round the clock to prevent Nduta's execution. 

“It is unfortunate that a Kenyan is facing this kind of situation, it's not a pleasant situation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in particular my Principal Secretary, has been trying to converse with his counterpart in Vietnam to see if there can be some mitigation in this process,” Mudavadi said on March 19, 2025.

The CS added that the government was working on over 1,000 cases of Kenyans in different countries facing incarceration for different offenses. 

Nduta was arrested in 2023 after arriving at an airport in Vietnam's capital while in possession of two kilograms of cocaine. Her family, however, maintained that she was framed. 

“Walikuwa wasichana wawili, Nduta akaambiwa yeye ndio atakuwa wa mwisho kutoka. Vile siku yake ya kutoka alifika, aliniambia amenunuliwa bag juu yake ni ndogo na ni mzee. Akaambiwa atoe nguuo zake aweke kwa hiyo bag ingine,” Nduta’s sister Wambui Macharia told Citizen TV.