Eswatini questions grow after US deported five men
Prime Minister Dlamini Rejects Calls for Transparency about US Deportation Deal
Five Ex‑U.S. Deportees Land in Eswatini amid Criticism
Eswatini’s administrative capital of Mbabane witnessed the arrival of five men deported from the United States on July 16. The men, each a national of Vietnam, Laos, Yemen, Cuba, and Jamaica, were flown in on a U.S. military aircraft and immediately placed in custody after Washington’s Department of Homeland Security labeled them “criminal illegal aliens.”
Details of the Deportation and Imprisonment
- U.S. authorities claimed the men were convicted of violent crimes “so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.”
- Eswatini’s government confirmed the presence of the five deportees and stated they would be repatriated in due course.
- The men are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Centre, a facility 30 kilometres south of Mbabane.
Public Response and Protest in Mbabane
Citizen and human‑rights groups questioned the legality of the deportation process and the rights of the detained men. A demonstration organized by the Eswatini Women’s Movement attracted around 150 women outside the U.S. embassy on Friday.
- Protesters demanded the release of the five men and the repatriation to the United States.
- They also questioned the legal basis Eswatini used to accept the deportees.
Conditions of Detainment and Legal Implications
Sources at the penitentiary administration confirmed that the men are in solitary confinement within the high‑security section of the correctional centre. They are denied phone calls but enjoy the same medical care, meals, and basic facilities as the other inmates, including a toilet, shower, and television in their cells.
Prime Minister Russell Dlamini dismissed calls from lawmakers and the public to lift the secrecy surrounding the agreement with Washington, stating, “Not every decision or agreement is supposed to be publicly shared.”
Eswatini is the second African country to receive deportees from the United States, after South Sudan earlier this month accepted eight individuals. The situation raises concerns about the potential implications for Eswatini, a nation already facing challenges under the absolute monarchy of King Mswati III.
