Babu calls on President Ruto to save woman sentenced to death in Vietnam
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has called on President William Ruto to intervene in the expected execution of a Kenyan national Margaret Nduta in Vietnam.
Nduta, 37, was arrested in July 2023 while traveling to Laos and later convicted on March 6 for trafficking two kilos of cocaine.
"I request President William Ruto to assist this Kenyan lady called Margaret Nduta, who is supposed to be hanged tomorrow in Vietnam," said Babu in a video posted online.
"This lady did no crime, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time, this is a lady who was misused, used, and abused."
Macharia Margaret Nduta at the HCMC People's Court, March 6, 2025. PHOTO/VnExpress
In the video, Babu called on the President to call the Vietnam government and intervene in the matter.
"Margaret Nduta should not be hanged tomorrow. I know you can take your phone to call the Vietnam government and we need not lose this lady," added Babu.
The family had until midnight on 12th March 2025 to appeal the conviction and despite the lapse, Nduta's mother Purity Wangui were seeking any intervention that would free her daughter, Nduta.
The ruling has left her family in shock, struggling to understand how a woman they describe as God-fearing could have ended up in such a situation.
Nduta has denied knowingly smuggling the drugs.
In her defense, she told the court that she was hired by a man known only as John from Kenya to deliver a suitcase to a woman who was supposed to meet her at the airport.
In return, she was to receive a package to bring back home. She said she had been given Sh167,000 as an advance payment, and her flight expenses were fully covered.
She was cleared at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, as well as in Ethiopia and Qatar, but was arrested upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City.