The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) welcomes Jamaican national Orville Isaac Etoria’s return to his home country, through the support of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), where he will finally reunite with his loved ones and compatriots. This development marks a positive step towards resolving the plight of individuals caught in the controversial and unconstitutional third-country deportee arrangement between the United States and Eswatini.
However, we are deeply troubled by the shroud of secrecy that has enveloped these proceedings. The Eswatini government’s announcement frames this as a seamless success, yet it conveniently overlooks the critical role of IOM in facilitating the return. Such opacity undermines public trust and accountability in international agreements and human rights matters.
Related: Jamaican man deported by US to Eswatini back home, says Johnson Smith
In the spirit of transparency, we urge the urgent hearing of the habeas corpus application, which would result in the individuals being brought before the court and the legal basis for their detention, if any, being disclosed to the public.
On 25 September 2025, the High Court is due to hear a challenge to the acceptance of third-country deportees. The case, brought by the Eswatini Litigation Centre, Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and SALC, seeks to ensure that all such agreements are thoroughly discussed in parliament before being concluded, and that the agreements take into account human rights standards. At this point, the State has yet to file its answering affidavit in the matter, thus failing to take the country and the court into its confidence in revealing the decision-making process and reasoning that led to five individuals being detained unlawfully in Eswatini’s correctional centres.
As more nations are approached to accept and detain third-country deportees, the Eswatini courts have the opportunity to defend the rule of law and international human rights standards and stand as a beacon for other courts dealing with similarly vexing cases.
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