After nearly 12 years an innocent prisoner was jailed in Vietnam, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Ministry is working tirelessly to save Margaret Nduta Macharia, a 37-year-old Kenyan woman sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking. The ministry has initiated diplomatic efforts to secure Macharia’s release or commute her sentence
The Kenyan government has dispatched a team of diplomats to Vietnam to negotiate Macharia’s release.The Foreign Affairs Ministry has also engaged with international human rights organisations to advocate for Macharia’s rights.
-From its side the Vietnamese government has indicated willingness to reconsider Macharia’s sentence, pending diplomatic negotiations.
The case started when Marchria was stopped by a drug bag and was arrested in 2013 at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, with 3.5 kilograms of heroin in her luggage. She was sentenced to death in 2014. Since then Kenyan government has maintained that Macharia was a victim of human trafficking and has appealed for clemency.
