Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi has disclosed ongoing diplomatic efforts to prevent the execution of Margaret Nduta who is facing the death penalty in Vietnam.
Speaking on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Mudavadi described the situation as unfortunate while revealing that the ministry through Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei, has initiated high-level talks with Vietnamese authorities in an attempt to secure clemency.
“It is unfortunate that a Kenyan is facing this kind of situation. It is 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.
“We hope there can be some success so that there is no summary execution as we go ahead,” he added.
While not explicitly mentioning the specifics of Nduta’s case, Mudavadi touched on issues related to drug trafficking, emphasizing that the government was not making judgments about guilt or innocence but working with the judicial findings from Vietnam.
“We are not trying to say she is guilty or not guilty other than what we have as a record from the judicial process in Vietnam, so ours is not about judgment but working on that basis,” he stated.
However, he emphasized the importance of Kenyans being mindful of foreign laws when travelling, revealing that there are currently about 1,000 Kenyans incarcerated in different countries for various offences.
“We have a record and we are still counting that out of the Kenyans in the diaspora we have a total of about one thousand Kenyans in different countries facing incarceration for different offences,” he disclosed.
Warning to Kenyans
Mudavadi used the opportunity to issue a stern warning to Kenyans travelling abroad.
“We want to also send a clear message as a country, we need to be careful that Kenyans who are stepping out into the diaspora do not fall into the trap of engaging in any illegal activities,” he cautioned.
He particularly addressed young Kenyans, reminding them that they become subject to foreign laws upon arrival in other countries.
“One of the things I have been emphasizing is that please the young Kenyans that you are going out remember that the moment you board a plane and the wheels are lifted, when you land in whatever country you are going to, the laws that apply are not Kenyan laws, they are the laws of that respective country so please respect the law,” he stated.
While reiterating that Vietnam has its own judicial processes, Mudavadi made it clear that Kenya does not want to be perceived as a hub for illicit trade, including drug and human trafficking.
“We want to make it clear that we do not want to market Kenya as a conduit for illicit trade whether drugs or human trafficking or any other contraband or even illicit firearms. We have to be very clear on this,” he stated.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the CS expressed hope for a diplomatic resolution.
“All lives matter and all we can say at this stage is we hope we can find a solution to this,” he concluded.
Nduta’s case
Nduta was convicted by the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on March 6, 2025, after being found guilty of smuggling over two kilograms of cocaine.
Her family in Weithaga, Kiharu, Murang’a County, believes she was set up, claiming she was given a parcel by someone named “Njoroge,” who paid for her air ticket to deliver it to an unidentified recipient.
According to court documents, Nduta was arrested in July 2023 while in transit to Laos after successfully passing through security checks at airports in Nairobi, Ethiopia, and Qatar.
She testified in court that she was paid $1,300 (approximately Ksh167,000) for the delivery.
