The Supreme Court of Eswatini has unanimously confirmed a High Court order granting lawyers access to individuals who were transferred from the United States and are currently detained at the Matsapha Correctional Complex.
While the ruling establishes a legal pathway for counsel to reach the detainees, Amnesty International has characterized the decision as a limited remedy that fails to address the underlying legality of the transfers. Vongai Chikwanda, the organization’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, stated that the ruling is an important step for the right to legal representation but does not resolve the “deeper human rights violations” associated with third-country removals.
The detainees were moved from the U.S. To Eswatini in a series of transfers beginning in July 2025, when the first group of five people arrived. This was followed by the removal of 10 additional individuals in October 2025 and a further four men in March 2026. All have been held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex.
Amnesty International maintains that these individuals are being held in arbitrary detention. Chikwanda emphasized that access to legal counsel, while essential, cannot independently redress the lack of due process surrounding their arrival and subsequent imprisonment.
The organization is now calling on Eswatini authorities to move beyond the court’s mandate by ensuring that access to lawyers is both immediate and confidential. Amnesty is demanding that the government either disclose the specific legal basis for the continued detention of these men or grant them their release.
The legal controversy surrounding these transfers is part of a broader regional concern. In August 2025, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights issued a communique raising concerns over the U.S. Practice of removing third-country nationals to various African nations, including Eswatini.
The urgency of the situation has been heightened by reports that Eswatini has reached an agreement to accept a larger number of deportees from the United States. Amnesty International has urged both the Eswatini and U.S. Governments to terminate the practice, arguing that no individual should be transferred in violation of international law guarantees only to be held in secrecy without a clear legal process or protection against further unlawful removal.
The focus now shifts to whether the Eswatini government will provide the necessary legal justifications for the detention of the current prisoners or facilitate their release.
