Macharia Margaret Nduta, 37, has been sentenced to death in Vietnam.
A Kenyan woman now claims she spent time in a Ghanaian prison with Margaret Nduta, who has been sentenced to death in Vietnam.
Seeking to highlight the plight of Kenyan women ensnared by drug trafficking networks, the woman insists that Nduta must have been coerced into transporting drugs to Vietnam under threat of dire consequences.
Currently imprisoned in Hong Kong, the woman says she surrendered to the authorities there after being forced to carry drugs by a syndicate based in Nigeria. She had previously been arrested in Ghana, where she served time before leaving Nduta behind upon her release.
However, Nduta’s family has dismissed claims of her incarceration in Ghana, insisting that she had never left Kenya before.
According to the family, Nduta was travelling to Asia in 2023 to take up employment as a househelp.
The woman in Hong Kong spoke through Fr John Wotherspoon, a prison chaplain in the Far Eastern country who has long worked with individuals imprisoned for drug-related offences in the region.
Fr Wotherspoon, an Australian national, visited her in prison yesterday.
A handwritten note she gave him, translated from its original language, read: “I know Maggie (Nduta), and we were together in Ghana. After we left, they continued to track us to our homes. Please, she is telling the truth. The Nigerians said they would kill our children and everyone we love if we refused to carry drugs again. These people even know our distant relatives. Please do not let her be executed; she is telling the truth. The Nigerians never let anyone go.”
'Case compromised'
Speaking to the Nation, Fr Wotherspoon said corruption within the Ghanaian police had compromised the woman’s case.
“When she and Nduta were arrested in Ghana, Nduta was sentenced to about four years, while this woman was acquitted because the police handling her case were corrupt and were themselves arrested. As a result, the case against her collapsed. However, as soon as she returned to Kenya from Ghana, the Nigerians contacted her again, coercing her into another mission,” he said.
“The Nigerians had a friend of hers killed in Kenya. That’s how serious it was. This woman tried everything to avoid going to Hong Kong. She fled, but they found her. I believe they even kidnapped her son at one point.
Margaret Nduta, the 37 year old Murang'a woman who was condemned to hang on March 6, 2025 in Vietnam for drug trafficking related charges.
“She eventually ended up in Hong Kong, but upon arrival, she immediately surrendered at the airport and explained her situation to the authorities because she was a victim.
“That is why she believes the same thing happened to Nduta - after Nduta returned to Kenya from Ghana, the Nigerians threatened her and her family, forcing her to go to Vietnam,” Fr Wotherspoon explained.
The priest runs a website featuring interviews with individuals who have been involved in drug trafficking, either willingly or under duress. These include people from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and other countries.
In a 2020 interview with the Nation in Nairobi, Fr Wotherspoon shared numerous letters written by Kenyan women imprisoned in Hong Kong. Among them was Faith Omollo, who was then facing the death penalty in Malaysia.
Fr John Wotherspoon, a prison chaplain in Hong Kong, seeks redress for Kenyans held in Hong Kong prisons over drug trafficking, during interview on January 16, 2020 in Nairobi. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Ms Omollo returned to Kenya in December 2024 after successfully appealing her sentence, with partial assistance from Fr Wotherspoon. Speaking to Nation on January 1, she described the harrowing experience of incarceration, saying she suffered lasting injuries from being chained hand and foot.
“Bear in mind that in Asia, they impose the death penalty. If you are caught with drugs in countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, China, or Indonesia, you are condemned to die in prison. You don’t serve a sentence and return home; they will execute you. I returned to Kenya only by God’s grace,” she said. “To everyone out there - say no to drug lords.”
'Threats on family'
Commenting on Nduta’s case, Fr Wotherspoon said: “On both occasions - going to Ghana and to Vietnam - she was forced due to threats against her family. She did not willingly engage in drug trafficking.”
He urged the Kenyan government to relay this new information to Vietnamese authorities, arguing that Nduta’s life could be spared if they understood that she had acted under duress.
“If this development could reach the Kenyan government and be passed on to the Vietnamese authorities, they might reconsider her case. This is the second time she has been coerced, and now another woman in a similar situation has confirmed it. It could make a difference.”
An email to Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking confirmation of Nduta’s alleged incarceration in the country went unanswered.
eondieki@ke.nationmedia.com
