Eswatini has officially confirmed receiving $5.1 million from the United States government in exchange for accepting third-country nationals deported under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement program. Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg disclosed the figure during parliamentary questioning on Monday, marking the first time the southern African kingdom acknowledged the financial aspect of the controversial arrangement.
The payment was channeled through Eswatini’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), with Rijkenberg stating that his ministry remained uninformed about the transaction until after it occurred. The minister told lawmakers he learned the funds were designated for the deportee program only after making inquiries about the unexpected deposit.
The arrangement has drawn intense scrutiny from human rights organizations and civil society groups. An agreement revealed by Human Rights Watch in September stipulates that Eswatini would accept up to 160 deportees in return for the funds, which are earmarked to strengthen the kingdom’s border and migration management infrastructure. Both governments had previously declined to comment on the document’s authenticity.
Fifteen men have arrived in Eswatini since the program began, originating from Vietnam, Cuba, Laos, Yemen, the Philippines, Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia and Congo. The first group of five landed in July aboard a chartered United States military aircraft, followed by ten more in early October. One Jamaican national, who had completed a murder sentence in America, was subsequently repatriated to his home country in September.
The remaining fourteen individuals are being detained at Matsapha Correctional Complex, a maximum-security facility near the administrative capital Mbabane. According to their legal representatives, the deportees are being held without formal charges and have been denied access to legal counsel, with phone conversations to American attorneys monitored by prison guards.
Former inmate Elvis Vusi Mazibuko, who spent over two decades at Matsapha on robbery and vehicle theft convictions, described the prison environment as harsh, saying survival requires constant vigilance amid cramped conditions where minor disputes regularly escalate. The facility has historically been used to detain political prisoners and democracy activists in the absolute monarchy.
Legal challenges have mounted against the deportation arrangement. Lawyers and civil society organizations have filed court actions challenging the constitutionality and legality of accepting the deportees and holding foreign nationals without charges. The Eswatini government is defending its position, asserting it possessed the authority to reach such an agreement with Washington.
Rijkenberg noted that the NDMA funds cannot be utilized without proper parliamentary appropriation, pledging to regularize the process through official channels. Government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli maintained that authorities had been transparent about American financing for deportee welfare and repatriation costs.
The Trump administration has established similar deportation agreements with at least four other African nations, including Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan. A United States State Department spokesperson declined to discuss details of diplomatic communications with foreign governments, emphasizing that implementing the administration’s immigration policies remains a top priority.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy. Ruled by King Mswati III since 1986, the government has faced accusations of human rights violations from various international organizations. The kingdom’s decision to participate in the program has alarmed neighboring South Africa, which fears deportees might cross the porous border.
Mdluli told international media that future decisions regarding additional deportees would depend on ongoing discussions with American officials and the availability of detention capacity. The Eswatini prison department has maintained that deportees are securely housed and pose no danger to the public.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
