Secret Deal Confirmed

Eswatini’s government has officially confirmed receiving $5.1 million from the United States in exchange for accepting foreign nationals deported under a secretive Trump administration program. The confirmation came from Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg during a parliamentary session on Monday, 17 November 2025, bringing to light a deal that had operated largely in the shadows. Rijkenberg admitted that his own ministry had been kept unaware of the arrangement's specifics, stating, “We were told it was for the US deportees after we enquired.”

The agreement, first exposed in a September 2025 document by Human Rights Watch, commits the southern African kingdom to accept up to 160 deportees. In return, the U.S. provides funds designated to “build its border and migration management capacity.” So far, 15 men have arrived in two separate groups since July 2025, flown in on chartered U.S. military planes. These individuals, described by Washington as having been convicted of serious crimes, are being held without charge in Matsapha, a maximum-security prison known for housing political detainees.

A Pattern of US Foreign Policy

This “third-country” deportation strategy is not isolated to Eswatini. It represents a broader, controversial U.S. policy of outsourcing migration management, often by striking deals with nations that have little or no connection to the deportees. At least five African countries have been involved in similar arrangements, including Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Uganda also agreed to a deal, though it stipulated it would not accept individuals with criminal records. These agreements are often secured through financial incentives or diplomatic pressure, raising alarms among human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch has condemned the practice, stating it violates international law and is “designed to instrumentalize human suffering as a deterrent to migration.” The organization has urged African governments to terminate any existing agreements and refuse future ones.

Implications for Kenya and East Africa

While Kenya is not currently part of such a deal, the precedent set by these agreements has significant implications for the region. On 27 September 2025, President William Ruto confirmed that Kenya had not received any formal request from Washington to accept deportees and stressed that any such proposal would require strict adherence to Kenyan law. This stance distances Nairobi from the controversial arrangements embraced by neighbours like Uganda and Rwanda.

The policy highlights a transactional approach to U.S.-Africa relations that could pressure nations into agreements that compromise their sovereignty and international legal obligations. For East Africa, a region hosting millions of refugees and grappling with complex migration dynamics, such policies could undermine established asylum protocols and the principle of non-refoulement. The secrecy surrounding the Eswatini deal also serves as a cautionary tale about the need for transparency and public oversight in international agreements that affect human rights. With an estimated 30,000 undocumented Kenyans in the U.S. facing potential deportation under stringent immigration policies, the methods and partnerships employed by Washington are of direct relevance to Kenyan citizens abroad.

Human Rights and Legal Challenges

The deportees sent to Eswatini are nationals of various countries, including Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen, with no ties to the kingdom. Their indefinite detention in a maximum-security facility has prompted legal challenges within Eswatini. Local civil society groups have sued the government, arguing the secret deal is unconstitutional because it was never presented to parliament for ratification. Lawyers for the detained men have reported being denied access to their clients, further compounding concerns about due process. The situation mirrors abuses reported in other third-country arrangements, such as the documented torture of Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador under a similar U.S. program. The United Nations has warned that these rapid removals to unfamiliar countries occur without adequate legal safeguards, putting vulnerable individuals at risk of persecution and other serious harm.