Human rights lawyers and activists have taken Eswatini’s government to court over a confidential agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration to accept third-country deportees from the United States, arguing the move is unconstitutional.
The case was due to be heard at the High Court on Friday but was postponed to Sept. 25 after the government failed to file its responding papers, the lead applicant told Reuters outside court.
Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo dismissed the suit by text message, saying it had no legal basis and calling it “a frivolous legal application”.
In July, the United States deported five people from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen to the southern African kingdom. All five are convicted felons. Eswatini says it is holding them in solitary confinement pending repatriation.
The applicants, led by the Eswatini Litigation Centre, contend the agreement is unlawful because it was neither submitted to parliament for approval nor publicly disclosed. They also say no independent party has been granted access to the deportees and their condition remains unknown.
“We want the executive to be held accountable, we want transparency in matters of state importance, and respect for the rights of all individuals in Eswatini regardless of who they may be,” said lead applicant and lawyer Mzwandile Masuku.
Eswatini, an absolute monarchy ruled by King Mswati III, has said the deportees pose no threat and that the arrangement rests on its good relations with Washington.
The International Organization for Migration said it had received a request from Eswatini to provide “post-arrival assistance” for the deportees and was discussing the matter with the government, without detailing what support might be offered.
Trump has vowed to deport millions of people who entered the United States illegally and has sought to expand removals to third countries.