Eswatini has officially acknowledged receiving $5.1 million from the United States government in exchange for accepting dozens of deportees expelled under former US President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policies.
Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg revealed the figure during a parliamentary session on Monday, confirming long-circulating reports about the controversial deal. He said the money was transferred without the finance ministry’s prior knowledge and was later traced to the country’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) account — funds the agency has not been permitted to use until properly regularized.
Rights groups have strongly condemned the arrangement, accusing the Eswatini government of compromising human rights for financial gain. Human Rights Watch (HRW) previously said it had reviewed a copy of the agreement, which allowed Eswatini to accept up to 160 deportees from the US in return for the $5.1 million to boost the kingdom’s “border and migration management capacity.”
So far, the country has taken in five deportees in July and 10 more in October, including individuals from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen. One deportee has already been sent back to Jamaica. Government officials insist the rest will also be repatriated to their home countries after ongoing “engagements.”
Acting government spokeswoman Thabile Mdluli said Eswatini has always been transparent about the US covering the welfare, temporary accommodation, and repatriation expenses of the deported individuals.
The deal is now being challenged in court by lawyers and civil society groups who argue that Eswatini’s executive overstepped its authority. The government maintains it acted within its constitutional powers.
The arrangement has also alarmed neighboring South Africa, which fears that some deportees could slip across the countries’ shared, porous border.
Eswatini — a small kingdom surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique and ruled by King Mswati III since 1986 — remains under scrutiny as the controversy grows, both domestically and internationally.