Spotted on Friday on a supervised shopping trip around the Matsapha industrial town, the 17 deportees from the United States have access to a kitchen where they prepare their own meals, it has been revealed.
They cook as and when they want to in order to supplement food provided by the State.
They are accommodated at the Matsapha Correctional Facility.
Human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, who has been involved in matters concerning the deportees, disclosed that the arrangement allowed them to prepare food of their choice, particularly because some of them were not accustomed to the traditional African meals served at the facility.
Nhlabatsi explained that this was also the reason some of the deportees were seen purchasing groceries, including tinned food, during a shopping trip on Friday.
He said the deportees were permitted to move outside the facility under the arrangements governing their local stay.
“They have access to a small kitchen where they can prepare additional meals to supplement what is provided by the State,” Nhlabatsi said.
He added that the deportees were allowed to purchase and prepare food of their choice using the E500 allowance.
He said the deportees were in good health, although they had been traumatised mainly by the deportation process and separation from their families.
His comments followed the deportees’ trending pictures after being published by the Sunday Observer. The pictures showed some of the deportees walking outside the Matsapha Correctional Facility after buying groceries.
Nhlabatsi also sought to dispel perceptions that the deportees were dangerous criminals, saying their continued accommodation at a correctional facility should not be interpreted to mean that they were serving criminal sentences.
“They are not criminals, or even barbaric as they had initially been portrayed,” he said.
He said the initial portrayal of the deportees as hardened criminals had contributed to perceptions that they should not be allowed to associate with society or remain in the country.
On another note, Nhlabatsi said a majority of the deportees had established families and careers in the US, with some having jobs, spouses, children and partners there.
He said the separation from their families was particularly difficult for those with teenage children, whom he said had started interpreting their absence as abandonment or neglect.
He noted that the current living arrangement at the correctional facility made it hard for the deportees’ families to easily visit them.
The lawyer said the deportees’ financial circumstances further compounded their situation, noting that they only had access to the E500 allowance and nothing more, making it difficult to send money back home.
Meanwhile, the lawyer mentioned that processes to determine the long-term fate of the deportees had already begun, with authorities considering whether they could be integrated into local society, returned to their countries of origin or transferred to alternative destinations.
Nhlabatsi said the process involved several stakeholders, including government, but declined to divulge details, saying it was not his place to disclose information on the ongoing processes.
He had previously explained that repatriating the deportees was not straightforward, as international law required authorities to establish whether each individual could safely return to their country of origin.
The willingness of each deportee to return home was also an important consideration, particularly where an individual had fled their country because of persecution.
He said organisations such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could play a critical role in assessing their individual circumstances.
The vetting process, he explained, would determine which deportees could safely be returned to their countries, which could potentially be resettled in third countries and which had no viable destination.
“For those who cannot be repatriated or resettled elsewhere, the government of Eswatini will ultimately have to find ways of integrating them into society. Unfortunately, there are individuals among the current deportees who fall into that category,” Nhlabatsi had said.
He previously cited the case of one deportee who was released from a US prison in 1991 but declined to return to his country of origin.
Instead, the man remained in the US under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Order of Supervision, which required him to periodically report to immigration authorities, comply with travel restrictions and notify officials of changes to his address.
Nhlabatsi said the case demonstrated the complexity of determining an appropriate destination for some deportees.
‘THEY ARE LEAVING’ — JUSTICE MINISTER
BY NOKUPHILA HAJI
Lobamba
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Prince Simelane says the United States deportees currently in the country are not here to stay.
They are leaving, he said.
This was during the debate on the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs’ first-quarter performance report in the Senate yesterday.
The minister said the deportees were not brought into the country to stay.
“That was not part of the agreement,” he said.
He said they were passing through Eswatini on their way back to their respective countries.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs was working on the repatriation of the deportees, highlighting that he was shocked to learn that they no longer wanted to go back to their countries as they loved Eswatini and were even considering acquiring land locally.
The minister also stated that government was not using its own funds for the repatriation, but that it would be paid for by the United States.
He said their food and E500 allowances were being catered for from this budget. He said the same grant was used for their repatriation, amid suggestions that they should walk to their countries instead of using a plane.
“Kute yemaswati imali lesebentako,” he said.
The minister was responding to concerns raised by Chief Mphatfwa, who said there were instances where some people paid E500 bail while others paid E50 000 bail and E5 000 as surety.
He said some were then sentenced without a fine after their cases went to trial, which also takes some time.
“There are illegal gamblers who came here. They are now 100, they come from a country we do not have any relations with. They were fined E500. Their cases are similar to those from Bhudla who are ‘facata’ scammers. Their cases have still not been attended to, while these ones have had their cases concluded. The people from Bhudla pay a lot of money as bail and these ones have been released for only E500,” he said.
He added that there was a child of God who started a stokvel who was arrested and released on E50 000 bail.
He said after trial, the man was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine.
He said this particular person was released from prison with a degree and asked why the interpretation of the law was not consistent.
“They are being repatriated and they used a plane. They are happy that our government is repatriating them. Where is government getting all of this money? Government said they do not have money to increase the elderly grants, but they have money to deport people who came into the country to conduct criminal activities,” he said.
The senator added that it costs around E30 000 to repatriate the foreign nationals.
He asked why these people were not simply chased out of the country, as the money being used for their repatriation could have been channelled to elderly grants.
In response, the Justice Minister said the whole nation was complaining about the issue of bail.
He said people had rights, including the right to apply for bail, while acknowledging that it became painful for victims when they saw accused people walking around free.
He said this was also painful for the police who made the arrests.
The minister said such situations used to lead to mob justice, adding that he was hopeful that the situation would not reach that stage locally.
He said people were paying E5 000 cash and the rest as surety.
“The country was unlucky to wake up to gambling scammers, while it is known to be the pulpit of Africa. People now say they are being robbed in Eswatini and they are asking questions,” he said.
