Controversy as Eswatini Receives US Deportees Amid Legal Challenges

Fri Oct 10 2025 22:23:33 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Eswatini has controversially accepted ten deportees from the United States, igniting legal challenges from rights groups opposing the agreement. The arrival has raised questions about governmental authority and human rights implications.

Despite ongoing legal challenges from rights organizations, Eswatini has accepted ten deportees from the United States. This move follows a previous group of deportees and has sparked controversy over the government's agreements with foreign nations regarding deportation processes. Activists argue that this is an infringement on national sovereignty and a regression of democratic processes.

The US has deported 10 individuals to Eswatini, despite legal action from rights groups in the southern African nation aimed at halting the plan.

This marks the second group of deportees sent to Eswatini as part of a stringent stance on immigration adopted during the Trump administration.

The Eswatini prison department stated that the ten deportees are being securely accommodated and pose no threat to the public.

Earlier in July, Eswatini accepted five deportees labeled 'deprived monsters' by the US government. One individual has since been returned to Jamaica, with two others expected to be repatriated shortly.

In a Sunday statement, Eswatini's government announced that they would take in 11 deportees following an agreement with the US for cooperation. However, they did not clarify why only ten have arrived.

The names of the deportees have not been disclosed, and their arrival is coinciding with a court case concerning the legality of these deportations, set to resume in Mbabane.

The Southern African Litigation Centre, alongside civil society groups, argues that this move constitutes 'executive overreach,' alleging that the constitutional requirement for parliamentary consent in such agreements was not satisfied.

Activists have protested outside the US embassy, expressing their disapproval of the deal, which they claim undermines democratic principles established two decades ago with the adoption of Eswatini's constitution.

Eswatini’s government defends its actions, maintaining that it has operated within its legitimate powers, citing a constitutionally allowed capacity to engage in such agreements with foreign governments.

Concerns surrounding the safety of the deportees and the possibilities of them crossing into neighboring South Africa have also been raised, although government officials assure that the deportees are being securely housed separately from the public.

Previously known as Swaziland, Eswatini is a landlocked kingdom surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique, under the leadership of King Mswati III since 1986.