The Supreme Court of Eswatini has ruled that four men deported from the United States to the African kingdom can finally meet with legal counsel, ending a nine-month period of isolation at a maximum-security prison. The ruling comes after the men, who were sent to the country last July, were repeatedly denied in-person access to their lawyers while held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex.
The decision marks a critical victory for the legal teams representing the men—who hail from Cuba, Yemen, Laos, and Vietnam—after a protracted legal battle against the government of Eswatini. While the men had been permitted to speak with their U.S.-based attorneys via telephone, the Eswatini government had blocked local lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi from meeting them in person, despite a previous order from a lower court granting such access.
This case highlights the precarious legal standing of migrants caught in the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program, a policy designed to remove individuals from the U.S. To nations other than their own. The court rules in favor of 4 men deported to Africa who have effectively become pawns in a complex geopolitical arrangement involving millions of dollars in payments and questionable human rights records.
In its ruling delivered Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed the Eswatini government’s arguments that the deportees did not wish to meet with Nhlabatsi. The court also rejected the claim that the men had no right to counsel because they had not been formally arrested or charged with a crime within the kingdom of Eswatini.
A System of Paid Deportations
The deportation of these four men is part of a broader strategy employed by the Trump administration to quickly remove migrants who cannot be easily returned to their home countries. Eswatini is one of at least eight African nations that have struck deals with the U.S. Government to accept such deportees.
According to documents released by the U.S. State Department, the United States agreed to pay the Eswatini government $5.1 million to take in deportees. Since July, Eswatini has received at least 19 deportees in separate batches. While the Eswatini government stated it could hold these individuals in prison for up to a year, only two of the deportees have been repatriated to their home countries thus far.
The program has drawn sharp criticism from human rights advocates, who argue that it effectively outsources the violation of legal rights to countries with poor records on civil liberties. Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, is ruled by a king and has been frequently accused of violently suppressing pro-democracy movements.
The Financial and Political Cost of Third-Country Deals
The scale of these arrangements extends beyond Eswatini. A February report by Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee indicated that the Trump administration spent at least $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to third countries across Africa and Central America. Internal documents have suggested that as many as 47 such deals were either agreed upon or under negotiation.
| Country | Reported Payment | Context/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eswatini | $5.1 million | At least 19 deportees received since July |
| Rwanda | $7.5 million | Payment confirmed via State Department documents |
| Equatorial Guinea | $7.5 million | Payment questioned by Senate Democrats |
The nature of these deals has often been cloaked in secrecy, leading to concerns about the “price” of these agreements. In the case of South Sudan, documents revealed that the government asked the U.S. To drop sanctions against a senior official accused of corruption and assist in prosecuting an opposition leader in exchange for taking deportees. There is no evidence that the U.S. Government granted those specific requests.
Legal Limbo at Matsapha Correctional Complex
The four men at the center of the recent Supreme Court ruling discover themselves in a legal vacuum. The U.S. Government maintains that the men were convicted of serious crimes in the United States and were subject to valid deportation orders. However, their legal representatives argue that since the men completed their prison sentences in the U.S., their continued detention in Eswatini is illegal.
Because they have not been charged with any crime in Eswatini, their lawyers contend that the Matsapha Correctional Complex is effectively holding them without cause. Alma David, a lawyer with the Novo Legal Group representing two of the men, emphasized the severity of the government’s resistance to legal access.
“The fact that it took nine months of litigation to allow the men to meet with a lawyer speaks volumes about how hard the government of Eswatini is fighting to deny these men the most basic of rights.”
This struggle for basic due process is a recurring theme for those affected by the court rules in favor of 4 men deported to Africa case, as the U.S. Authorities have largely handed over responsibility for the treatment of deportees to the receiving nations once the transfer is complete.
What This Means for the Deportees
The Supreme Court’s ruling does not immediately grant the men their freedom, but it provides the necessary legal mechanism to challenge their detention. With Sibusiso Nhlabatsi now able to meet the men in person, the legal team can better document their conditions and build a case for their release or repatriation.
The broader implications of this case may impact other migrants held under similar third-country agreements in nations like Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Uganda, and Rwanda. As the secrecy surrounding these $40 million in expenditures is peeled back, the legal precedents set in Eswatini could serve as a blueprint for challenging the legality of “paid” detentions in absolute monarchies or autocratic regimes.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The next critical step will be the physical meeting between the deportees and their local counsel, which is expected to inform fresh filings regarding the legality of their detention at the Matsapha Correctional Complex. We will continue to monitor the court’s directives and any response from the Eswatini government spokesperson.
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