2 days ago
Outrage erupts over U. S. deportation of violent criminals to eSwatini
The government has denied the involvement of King Mswati in the deportation of hardened criminals from the U.S. to South Africa's neighbour.
Image: Supplied/Eswatini Government
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's decision to send five dangerous hardened criminals to eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) has sparked outrage in the neighbouring country and fears that they may end up in South Africa.
The Trump administration announced over a week ago that it would be sending the men who are illegal immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba convicted of child rape, murder, burglary, and being gang members and whose countries refuse to take them back.
This week, the eSwatini Women's Movement has raised concerns about whether the five individuals informed of their removal and given access to consular support from their home countries as this is a fundamental right of anyone detained or deported across international borders.
It demanded to know who within the eSwatini government authorised the acceptance of these individuals and the legal basis and if they were detained in line with a valid detention warrant or a certificate of detention as prescribed by the Immigration Act.
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"If there is no such legal basis, under what authority are they currently being held? Any alternative basis for detention may contravene the Correctional Services Act No. 13 of 2017 and risks undermining the rule of law in eSwatini," the movement said.
In addition, it wants to know how much has been paid to the government of eSwatini to support the stay of the five deported individuals and the plan after the conclusion of their sentences.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), which mobilises exiled emaSwati, has urged the country's citizens at home and in the diaspora to fight what it described as a shameful arrangement.
The SSN said emaSwati must organise, mobilise and protest against the decision and make it clear to their government that their country is not for sale nor is it an American prison.
According to the network, the U.S. homeland security department has stated that the convicted criminals must be removed so that they can never hurt another American victim, which by implication means they must now hurt emaSwati.
"This is a deliberate act of collusion by two corrupt governments to dump America's most violent criminals in one of the world's poorest nations.
And the (King) Mswati-led Tinkhundla (eSwatini local government administrative division) regime quietly agreed without consulting the nation or informing its own rubberstamp Parliament," the SSN said.
It called on emaSwati to demand answers on whether this is a paid-for deal or a political favour, the terms and conditions.
"This is an act of betrayal and is proof once again that the Tinkhundla regime does not prioritise the safety and wellbeing of the Swazi people. It has not only auctioned off national sovereignty but it has turned Swaziland into a dumping ground for foreign governments looking to offload hardened criminals," the network complained.
Other organisations – the Swaziland Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women's Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre – said in a 2024 report on human rights practices in eSwatini, the U.S. noted that prisons were overcrowded, constituting inhumane treatment and that there were reports of torture.
They are demanding that the eSwatini government commit to not accepting inmates from third countries.
"The eSwatini Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration and international bodies, as official visitors under section 122 of the Correctional Services Act, visit the individuals to establish the facts surrounding their detention and their detention conditions.
"The international bodies should include the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which is currently conducting an official visit in eSwatini, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Pretoria," the organisations demanded.
Additionally, they want the government to clarify the legal and factual basis on which the five individuals were accepted into eSwatini and for their countries' consulates urgently arrange for consular services to ensure that they obtain legal representation.
The eSwatini government has denied King Mswati's involvement in the prisoners' deportation while the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa did not respond to questions on Saturday.
