Mbabane – Three foreign nationals have approached the High Court challenging their continued detention after they say they had completed a 14-day detention period ordered by the Mbabane Magistrate’s Court and were subsequently released on August 13, 2026.
The applicants, Nigerian national Justus Udochukwu Ibe, Tanzanian national Swaburu Swaibu Wengi and Mauritian national Kyobe Kisseka, are seeking their immediate release from custody and an order stopping their deportation pending the determination of their application.
The matter was filed under a certificate of urgency at the High Court in Mbabane, with the applicants arguing that their continued detention is unlawful because, according to their court papers, there is no fresh court order authorising their detention.
They are citing the National Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner of Correctional Services, the Eswatini Government and the Attorney General as respondents.
The applicants were arrested on July 16, 2026, and charged with contravening Section 14(2)(c), read with Section 8(1), of the Immigration Act of 1982. The charge alleges that they remained in Eswatini without valid entry permits.
They appeared before the Mbabane Magistrate’s Court on July 20, where they pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to five months’ imprisonment, with the option of paying a E500 fine.
According to Ibe’s founding affidavit, the court was informed during mitigation that the applicants had entered Eswatini legally and that Ibe had previously been issued with a visa by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The court called a Home Affairs official to give evidence concerning Ibe’s entry into the country and his visa. The official testified and was cross-examined by the applicants’ attorney.
Despite the conviction, the applicants say the magistrate ordered that they remain at Sidvwashini Correctional Facility for 14 days pending a decision by the Minister of Home Affairs.
The applicants say they paid the E500 fines and remained in custody for the full 14 days.
They were subsequently issued with liberation warrants dated August 13 and released from the correctional facility on the same day.
However, their freedom was short-lived.
According to the founding affidavit, correctional officials took them to a police station after their release, where they were placed in holding cells overnight.
The applicants say that the following day a police officer, identified in the affidavit as Sergeant Bheki, informed them that they were required to be deported and that they were therefore taken back to the correctional facility.
They allege that they have remained there without being brought before a court for a further detention order.
The applicants have also challenged the continued withholding of their passports.
Ibe states that his attorney approached the magistrate on August 14 seeking clarification on the applicants’ continued detention. According to the affidavit, the magistrate indicated that his order had provided for their release and that their continued detention had not been sanctioned by his court.
The applicants argue that the Minister of Home Affairs could not lawfully authorise their continued detention without the necessary judicial process.
They further contend that the Minister’s decision declaring them prohibited immigrants was made without giving them an opportunity to be heard.
Their papers invoke Section 33 of the Constitution of Eswatini, which provides for the right of a person appearing before an administrative authority to be heard and treated fairly in accordance with the law.
The applicants also question whether the statutory committee referred to in the Immigration Act was consulted before the Minister made the decision affecting them.
In seeking urgent relief, the applicants say their continued detention infringes their right to liberty and is causing hardship to their families.
Ibe says he has lived in Eswatini since 2017 and has a three-year-old child with an Eswatini mother. He further states that he intends to regularise his stay in the country and eventually seek Eswatini citizenship.
The applicants want the High Court to stop any deportation process, order their release from the custody of the Commissioner of Correctional Services and declare their arrest and detention unlawful.
They are also seeking an order compelling the police to surrender their passports and asking that, while their applications for residence permits are being processed, they be issued temporary permits.
The applicants have asked for costs against the National Commissioner of Police on an attorney-and-client scale, together with further or alternative relief.
The matter was set down for hearing before the High Court in Mbabane on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
The allegations contained in the applicants’ affidavits remain their version of events and have yet to be tested against the respondents’ answering papers.
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