Murang’a family wants gov’t to intervene after Vietnam sentences daughter to death for cocaine trafficking

A family in Karikwe village in Kiharu, Murang’a County, is pleading with the Kenyan government to intervene after their daughter, Margaret Nduta Macharia, was sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking.

The 37-year-old was convicted by the people's court in Ho Chi Minh City on March 6 after being found guilty of smuggling over two kilograms of cocaine.

While Nduta was arrested in July 2023 while in transit to Laos, her family says she learnt about her arrest and sentencing through the internet on March 8.

“It was the first time my daughter was travelling overseas searching for greener pastures. I plead with the authorities to help bring her home, even if it means serving her sentence locally,” Wangari said.

“She was given the luggage which got her arrested by a Kenyan man to take it to a woman abroad.”

The family hopes Nduta can serve her sentence in Kenya to avoid execution in Vietnam in case of a diplomatic intervention.