Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has announced progress in the government’s efforts to stop Margaret Nduta’s looming execution in Vietnam.
Mudavadi spoke during a joint press briefing with the Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp in Nairobi, on Wednesday, March 19, revealed that his ministry was in constant communication with the Vietnamese government for a possible withdrawal of the execution.
Mudavadi revealed that the government had since received documents on Nduta’s charges from Vietnam but highlighted that they were yet to receive final feedback on the matter.
“Unfortunately, a Kenyan is facing this kind of situation. It is not pleasant and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in particular, my PS has been trying to converse with his counterpart in Vietnam,” Mudavadi assured.
“The talks have been for us to see if there can be a mitigation in this process and we hope that there will be some success so that there can not be an execution,” he added.
Despite exuding hope, Mudavadi clarified that the government was not working on reversing the judgment but rather negotiating clemency for Nduta.
He went ahead to disclose that besides Nduta, there were about 1000 Kenyans who were serving imprisonment for different crimes in foreign countries.
His update comes amid calls for the repatriation of the 37-year-old who was sentenced to death by lethal injection after she was found guilty of drug trafficking.
Reportedly, Nduta is said to have been working for a man identified as John, who requested her to deliver a suitcase to a woman in Laos only for her to be arrested in Hanoi, Vietnam.
In her defense, the 37-year-old informed the court in Vietnam that she was unaware the drugs were in her suitcase. However, despite not pleading guilty to the crime, she was on March 6, sentenced to death.
ALSO READ: Government Changes KDF Recruitment System; Reasons Why