Mbabane, Eswatini, 1 August 2025: The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) announces its support for an urgent application filed in the High Court of Eswatini (Case No. 1623/25) by human rights lawyer Sibusiso Magnificent Nhlabatsi, supported by Mzwandile Masuku, both of Swaziland Litigation Centre.
The application challenges His Majesty’s Correctional Services’ denial of access to five foreign nationals deported from the United States to Eswatini on or around 16 July 2025, despite Mr. Nhlabatsi receiving instructions from their U.S.-based lawyers to provide legal consultation.
Appearing before High Court Judge BS Dlamini this morning, the matter was adjourned to Wednesday, 6 August 2025, after the Correctional Services agreed to grant Mr Nhlabatsi and Mr Masuku access to the detainees on Tuesday, 5 August 2025.
SALC argues that regardless of the reason for the detainees’ detention, whether as transferred offenders, prohibited immigrants, or for other reasons, their right to access a legal practitioner and communicate with family is inviolable. Their detention also increases the risk of incommunicado, arbitrary detention, and potential refoulement without legal oversight. No information about the legal basis for the detainees’ transfer to and detention in Eswatini has been provided.
We argue that this denial violates Section 21 of the Eswatini Constitution (right to legal representation), Section 16(6) (access to counsel and family), and international standards under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, risking arbitrary detention, incommunicado holding, and potential refoulement.
The High Court in Dlamini and Others v The Commissioner of His Majesty’s Correctional Services and Others held that this provision constitutes “the basic or standard minimum conditions rather than the exclusive categories of persons who have a right to visit a detainee.” Consequently, the court extended the right to have reasonable access and confidentiality to the prisoner to next-of-kin, associates, friends, colleagues, legal representatives, religious counsellors and medical doctors.”
Background
The detainees, men from Yemen, Cuba, Jamaica, Vietnam, and Laos, were convicted of felonies in the U.S., served their sentences, and were subsequently deported to Eswatini under a secretive agreement between the U.S. and Eswatini governments. Reports indicate that their countries of origin were not contacted before the transfer, and the full terms of the agreement remain undisclosed to the public or Parliament. Upon arrival, the detainees have been held in an isolated unit at the Matsapha Correctional Complex without charges, trial, or due process; to our knowledge, they have received no visitors, including consular representatives; and in all probability they may not have been informed of the duration of their detention, which the Eswatini Prime Minister stated on 18 July 2025, would not exceed 12 months.
On 25 July 2025, Mr. Nhlabatsi attempted to visit the detainees but was denied access after presenting his credentials. Correctional officials cited ongoing installation of communication devices and a future “pre-approved list” system based on family contacts, effectively barring immediate legal consultations. The application seeks an order to produce the detainees before the court for consultations, restrain officials from refusing access, and grant Mr. Nhlabatsi entry to the facility.
“The refusal to allow legal access is a clear infringement of constitutional rights and perpetuates an unlawful detention regime,” said Melusi Simelane, SALC’s Programme Manager for Civic Rights. “These men, with no ties to Eswatini, must be able to consult counsel to verify their conditions, challenge their status, and ensure protections against ill-treatment.” Simelane discussed these concerns in a recent interview with Newzroom Afrika, emphasising the lack of legal basis for holding U.S. deportees in Eswatini prisons.
SALC is providing technical and strategic support to Mr. Nhlabatsi and local partners, Swaziland Litigation Centre and Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly, on this matter, building on previous calls for transparency and legal action concerning the deportations. The organisation urges the Eswatini government to disclose the terms of the agreement, facilitate consular notifications, and allow independent oversight by entities like the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
This initiative aligns with SALC’s core mission to promote human rights, the rule of law, and democratic governance across Southern Africa through strategic litigation, advocacy, and capacity strengthening. In Eswatini, SALC has supported challenges to rights violations, including arbitrary detentions and restrictions on judicial independence, amid broader concerns over governance, prison conditions, and secretive policies that undermine open government and public accountability.
SALC calls on the international community, particularly the U.S., to uphold human rights in deportation practices and presses Eswatini to reject further third-country transfers without robust legal safeguards and public consultation.