Eswatini confirms receiving $5.1m from the US for accepting deportees

Source: BBC

Eswatini confirms receiving $5.1m from the US for accepting deportees

18 November 2025

Farouk Chothia

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.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq50vjdx368o