Margaret Nduta case: Why Southeast Asian countries execute drug traffickers

When the government of Kenya pledged to do everything possible to avert the impending execution of a Kenyan who was arrested and jailed in Vietnam two years ago for drug trafficking, sharp divisions arose, particularly on social media, regarding the fate of the embattled Margaret Nduta, who is facing the hangman’s noose.

Nduta, who hails from Murang’a, made headlines two years ago when she was arrested in July 2023 and charged with trafficking two kilogrammes of cocaine through Vietnam on her way to Laos.

The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr Korir Sing’oei, revealed that the government has intervened to save Nduta’s life. “Nduta’s case is complex and difficult, but we are doing everything possible within our means to secure a reprieve for our national,” Dr Sing’oei posted.

The PS also disclosed that Nairobi had established communication with Hanoi and that he had spoken with Vietnam’s Deputy Minister, Nguyen Minh Hang, regarding Nduta’s case.

Aside from the phone call, PS Sing’oei confirmed that the Kenyan Mission in Bangkok is actively following up on the matter.

In his petition to President Ruto on March 14, 2025, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka urged the Head of State to initiate urgent diplomatic intervention to safeguard Nduta’s fundamental rights and explore the possibility of clemency and repatriation.

“While acknowledging the sovereignty of the Vietnamese judicial system, it is imperative that the Government of Kenya intervenes to ensure Ms Macharia’s life is preserved and that she is given an opportunity to serve an appropriate sentence in her home country under Kenyan law,” he said.

Lawyer Wahome Thuku’s perspective on Nduta's case was critical. He highlighted the stark contrast between drug trafficking laws in Kenya and Vietnam.

“We Kenyans are not actually used to seeing laws being enforced. To us, hanging a human being who has been convicted and sentenced to death by a court of law is a strange phenomenon. Why? Because we are used to having such convicts spend time in prison and eventually walk home scot-free,” wrote Wahome.

The Eastleigh Voice explored why most Asian countries impose harsher penalties, including execution, on drug traffickers.

Death penalty for drug trafficking

There are up to 13 countries worldwide that have the death penalty for drug trafficking. In several nations in Southeast Asia, illegally importing, exporting, trading, or possessing drugs is a capital offence.

According to researchers Johnson and Zimring in 2009, the death penalty in Vietnam is not only a legal matter but also an indicator of political and social attitudes.

Vietnam, for instance, imposed the death penalty on drug traffickers after the country became a transnational hub in Southeast Asia and the Greater Mekong Subregion in recent years.

“Based on international legal standards, the use of the death penalty is not entirely contrary to international law or always tantamount to human rights violations. In line with the arguments of most retentionists, who point to the need for harmony between international standards and domestic legislation, the death penalty in Vietnam’s law only applies to ‘most serious crimes’, including drug-related offences,” note researchers Kien and Giao in 2019.

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In January last year, a court in Vietnam sentenced nine people to death after convicting them in one of the country's largest drug trafficking cases in months, state media reported.

They were found guilty of trafficking 105 kg (231.49 lb) of methamphetamine and heroin from Laos to Vietnam between 2021 and early 2022 when the ring was dismantled, according to the online newspaper VnExpress. Reuters could not immediately reach their lawyers for comment.

Vietnam has some of the world's toughest narcotics laws, where anyone found guilty of trafficking 100 grammes or more of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, or amphetamine faces the death penalty.

Over the past decade, Asian governments, like much of the rest of the world, have reconsidered the death penalty. Cambodia, the Philippines, East Timor, and Mongolia have abolished it, while others, including Vietnam and Singapore, have reviewed the scope of the laws governing its use. Yet, despite recent progress, Asia remains the continent with the world’s highest number of executions. Many on death row are drug mules.

Blaming the scourge of drug addiction, some countries have resumed executions, while others have sentenced increasing numbers of people to death.

“It’s a policy that governments choose, or do not choose, to embrace,” said Rick Lines, Executive Director of Harm Reduction International, which researches drug policy and the death penalty.

“The biggest example of that this year is Indonesia. In 2012, we categorised Indonesia as a ‘low application’ country, but this year they have executed 14 people for drugs. It’s not a change of culture or tradition. It’s a change in policy.”

“There is a deeply rooted hatred against drugs [in Indonesia],” said Ricky Gunawan, Director of Lembaga Bantuan Masyarakat Hukum, which provides legal assistance to people facing the death penalty. “With this kind of hatred, it’s easy for politicians to use this as a political tool to gain public sympathy.”