Keypoints:
- Rights groups file urgent High Court case
- Say US-Eswatini deal bypassed Parliament
- Warn of human rights and security risks
THE Eswatini Litigation Centre (ELC), in partnership with Mzwandile Banele Masuku, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly (SRWA), and Melusi Simelane of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), has filed an urgent High Court application challenging a secretive deportation agreement between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the United States of America.
The application seeks to declare the pact unconstitutional after five foreign nationals with no ties to Eswatini were flown in from the US and jailed at Matsapha Maximum Correctional Facility. The move follows a CNN report on the use of untracked US deportation flights to third countries — often with no connection to the deportees.
According to the ELC, Eswatini is the first Southern African Development Community (SADC) state to receive such a flight.
Activists question legality of agreement
The applicants argue the deal’s terms have never been disclosed and were implemented without public consultation or parliamentary approval, contravening section 238 of the Constitution. They say the arrangement undermines democracy, risks national security, and bypasses constitutional safeguards against unchecked executive power.
‘This application is a clarion call for constitutional fidelity on this historic anniversary,’ said Masuku, ELC Director. ‘For 20 years, our Constitution has promised a democratic Eswatini where no leader can wield unchecked power in international affairs.’
Impact on communities and sovereignty
Zakithi Sibandze, SRWA Coordinator, warned the deal diverts resources from urgent domestic priorities: ‘Rural women and communities bear the brunt of governance failures. This secretive deal threatens national integrity.’
Simelane, SALC Civic Rights Programme Manager, argued the agreement turns Eswatini into ‘a mere extension of US immigration policy’, adding that Africa must defend its sovereignty against external pressures. He stressed that the nation’s overcrowded prisons and strained regional relations make the deal untenable.
SALC Executive Director Anneke Meerkotter urged SADC heads of state to reject such deportation flights, saying: ‘We cannot allow our region to become complicit in egregious human rights violations. Enough is enough.’
Call for public disclosure
The litigants are demanding the government:
- Publish the full terms of the agreement;
- Submit similar deals to parliamentary scrutiny; and
- Commit to transparent, accountable governance.
They insist that secrecy erodes trust and that major international agreements must be subject to open debate.
Government response
When contacted for comment, government spokeswoman Thabile Mdluli told Africa Briefing: ‘Unfortunately, we can’t comment on this matter since it’s sub judice.’
Background to the case
In July 2025, Eswatini accepted five individuals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos, all of whom had served prison sentences in the US. The detainees, with no legal or familial ties to Eswatini, are now held in solitary confinement.
Government statements confirm the arrangement was negotiated at high levels with Washington, but no evidence of parliamentary ratification exists. The applicants say the deal:
- Bypassed democratic oversight;
- Jeopardises security and diplomatic ties;
- Places an unbudgeted burden on correctional facilities already at 171 percent capacity; and
- Undermines the rule of law.
The legal challenge, filed on the 20th anniversary of Eswatini’s Constitution, seeks to void the agreement, compel disclosure of its terms and costs, and halt any further deportee arrivals until the matter is resolved.
