Eswatini confirms receiving $5.1m from the US for accepting deportees
Written by BBC on November 19, 2025
Eswatini’s government has confirmed that it received $5.1m (£3.8m) from the Trump administration for accepting people deported from the US as part of a hard-line approach towards immigration.
The southern African kingdom, led by absolute monarch King Mswati III, has come in for heavy criticism from rights groups for striking the deportation deal with President Donald Trump’s government.
Questioned in parliament about the deal on Monday, Eswatini’s Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg confirmed the sum received from the US.
“We were told it was for the US deportees after we enquired,” he said, adding the ministry had been kept in the dark throughout the process, AFP news agency reports.
Eswatini has so far accepted two batches of deportees – five in July and 10 in October. One of the deportees has since been repatriated to Jamaica, his country of origin.
Eswatini government acting spokeswoman Thabile Mdluli told the BBC that “engagements” were ongoing to repatriate the other deportees to their countries of origin.
“Eventually, they will all be repatriated,” she said.
