Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has acknowledged the complexity of Margaret Nduta Macharia’s case as the 37-year-old faces execution in Vietnam for drug trafficking.
Convicted on March 6 by the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Macharia was found guilty of smuggling over two kilograms of cocaine, a crime that carries the death penalty in the Southeast Asian nation.
With her execution scheduled for Monday at 8:30 p.m. local time, her family and Kenyan legislators have urged the government to intervene. Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has called on President William Ruto and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to negotiate her repatriation, even if it means serving a sentence in Kenya. He has also pleaded for clemency on humanitarian grounds, requesting that her sentence be commuted to life imprisonment or an alternative penalty.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei confirmed that Kenya is making diplomatic efforts to secure a reprieve. On Sunday, he posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had spoken with Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Minh Hang, requesting a stay of execution. According to Sing’oei, Vietnam is reviewing Kenya’s petition, while the Kenyan embassy in Bangkok monitors the case closely.
Kenya does not have an embassy in Vietnam, with its diplomatic mission in Thailand handling affairs. Vietnam’s embassy in Tanzania is accredited to Kenya.
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Vietnam enforces some of the world’s strictest drug laws, with anyone caught trafficking over 600 grams of heroin or cocaine facing the death penalty. Macharia is set to have her final meal at 7:30 p.m. before her execution.
