eSwatini denies releasing US deportees into SA illegally

The eSwatini Government has denied that it secretly released US deportees and allowed them to illegally cross into SA through informal border crossings, reports The Citizen. An article from a local publication sent tongues wagging yesterday. Swaziland News reported that the kingdom has been secretly releasing US deportees and allowing them to illegally cross into SA. The publication said the US administration ‘dumped’ a man from Laos in eSwatini. The report said that eSwatini allegedly secretly released him and allowed him to take a flight in Johannesburg. eSwatini is one of several African countries that agreed to deals to accept migrants deported under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Last year it confirmed that it received about $5.1m from the US to accept 160 deportees. The head of international diplomacy at Department of International Relations & Co-operation, Clayson Monyela, has denied the claims. ‘eSwatini has issued a statement on this. The facts are laid out,’ Monyela replied to former SABC international news editor Sophie Mokoena’s tweet.