Kenyan national Margaret Nduta will no longer face execution in Vietnam after the country’s Supreme Court commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday, follows legal reforms that allow courts to issue alternative sentences for drug trafficking offences that previously carried mandatory capital punishment.

Nduta had been convicted of trafficking 2 kilograms of narcotics,  an offence that, until recently, attracted the death penalty under Vietnamese law.

With the court’s latest decision, she now has the option of seeking clemency or a further reduction in her sentence through an appeal to the President of Vietnam, who holds the authority to grant pardons.

Until July 2, Vietnam’s criminal code provided for the death penalty in 22 offences, including treason, robbery with violence, corruption, murder, and possession of more than 100 grams of illegal drugs. The changes to the law, however, removed automatic death sentences for certain crimes, including drug-related offences, offering people like Nduta a chance at life imprisonment instead.

“The death penalty remains cruel and inhumane punishment for all crimes,” said Irungu Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya.

“While a fair trial in a court of law is best placed to pronounce guilt or innocence, Margaret Nduta’s cruel death will not stop the trade.”

Houghton added that Nduta was not believed to be the mastermind in the case, but rather a courier. “By all accounts, she was not the mastermind but a mule in a trade that will immediately find another mule to transport the drugs of addiction and death.”

The case attracted concern in Kenya due to the narrow window of time for intervention before a final ruling.

While the court’s decision is a relief, it sheds light on the broader issue of Kenyans imprisoned abroad, especially in Asia, where many face lengthy sentences or capital punishment for drug trafficking and other serious crimes.