Margaret Nduta is coping but distressed, says PS Sing'Oei

The government has now given an update on Margaret Nduta, the Kenyan woman who was earlier this month sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking.

According to the Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei, a Kenyan delegation from Bangkok, Thailand secured travel visas and made it to the prison facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where Nduta is being held.

"We can confirm that while deeply distressed, Margaret is coping and has been treated humanely. Though Margaret was not represented by counsel during trial, an appeal filed a few days ago will be heard soon,"  said Korir.

The PS said they are still engaging their Vietnamese counterparts on other options for resolving Nduta's case.

"Kenyans are strongly advised not to get tempted or lured into any form of drug or human trafficking. It is an extremely dangerous and costly misadventure," Korir advised.

Earlier in the week the government said it had made efforts to secure the release of Nduta through diplomatic channels.

PS Korir said in a statement on X, that he had a telephone conversation on Sunday March 16, with his counterpart, H.E. Nguyen Minh Hang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam over the matter the case.

"I conveyed to Madam Hang the anxiety of the Kenyan people on the impending execution of our national and reiterated our request for a stay of execution to allow our two countries to find a path to resolving the issue," posted the PS.

The move came in the wake of petitions by several leaders including Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino who called on the government to intervene in Nduta's impending execution.

Nduta, 37, was arrested in July 2023 while traveling to Laos and later sentenced to death on March 6 for trafficking two kilos of cocaine.

Her case had drawn widespread concern among her family and Kenyans on social media who called for her release.