The Kingdom of Eswatini announced it will repatriate five immigrants deported from the United States, following their controversial transfer under Washington’s third-country removal programme, Africanews reported.
Government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli confirmed on Wednesday that the individuals, citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos, pose “no security threat to the nation” and are currently held in isolated correctional facilities while “on transit.”
The decision follows Tuesday’s revelation by US Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who described the deportees as convicted criminals and “individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.”
However, Eswatini’s participation in the US deportation initiative has drawn sharp condemnation from domestic opposition groups. Mphandlana Shongwe of the People’s United Democratic Movement condemned the move:
We condemn the bringing of hardcore convicts to our country to mix with our young convicts who still have a chance to be rehabilitated.
He suggested potential legal challenges through international courts. Similarly, Prince Bailey of the Swaziland United Democratic Front criticised the arrangement, stating it made Eswatini resemble “a dumping site [for] those people that the American government view as unworthy.”
Mdluli emphasised collaboration with the US and International Organisation for Migration to “facilitate” repatriation, though no timeframe was provided.
The African monarchy becomes the latest nation to participate in the programme, following US deportations of eight men to South Sudan after Supreme Court approval, along with transfers of hundreds to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama.
