Lobamba – Hhukwini Member of Parliament Alec Lushaba has questioned whether foreigners should be allowed to enter Eswatini without a valid reason, calling for tougher immigration laws and heavier penalties for those who violate them.
The Mp raised the concerns on September 9,2026 during a joint consultative workshop on the Immigration Bill involving the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee under the Ministry of Home Affairs and other stakeholders.
He said the proposed legislation should provide clear measures to deal with foreigners who enter the country without a legitimate purpose, while ensuring that those who break immigration laws face consequences serious enough to discourage them from repeating the offences.
His intervention comes at a time when immigration enforcement has attracted increased attention, particularly following recent cases involving foreign nationals who were convicted of immigration offences and fined.
Lushaba questioned whether the current fines were strong enough to serve as a deterrent, arguing that an offender should not be able to weigh up whether it would be easier to pay a fine than serve a prison sentence.
He said the figures proposed by Parliament should be reviewed to ensure that fines are sufficiently heavy to make immigration offences costly.
The issue of penalties has become particularly relevant following recent court cases in which foreign nationals were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment or given the option of paying a E500 fine for immigration offences. In some cases, the fines were paid, but the individuals remained in custody pending deportation.
Lushaba also raised a broader question about the rights of people who violate the laws of the country.
He questioned whether people who infringe on the country’s laws should still expect to enjoy rights without first complying with the laws governing entry and stay in Eswatini.
The MP’s comments come as Parliament considers whether the existing immigration framework is adequate to deal with changing patterns of migration and cross-border movement.
However, the consultation also exposed another challenge that Parliament will have to consider before adopting tougher immigration measures – the continued use of unofficial border crossing points by Emaswati.
The status of these crossing points emerged as one of the key concerns raised by MPs during the workshop.
Legislators argued that the proposed Immigration Bill should not simply render the crossing points illegitimate without considering the realities faced by communities living along the borders.
They said some Emaswati use these routes daily to access essential services and conduct activities in neighbouring countries.
For communities living close to the borders, unofficial crossing points are not necessarily viewed as routes for illegal activity but as part of their everyday movement between Eswatini and neighbouring countries.
MPs therefore called for the legislation to strike a balance between protecting the country’s borders and recognising the practical realities faced by border communities.
The debate places Parliament before a difficult question: how can Eswatini strengthen immigration enforcement without making life harder for citizens who depend on cross-border movement?
For Lushaba, stronger enforcement must also be accompanied by penalties that have real consequences.
His concern is that if fines are too low, offenders may regard them as simply another cost associated with breaking immigration laws.
The proposed legislation therefore faces scrutiny on two fronts – how Eswatini controls foreigners entering and remaining in the country, and how it regulates the movement of its own citizens through unofficial crossing points.
The consultation also comes amid heightened attention on immigration enforcement following recent cases involving foreign nationals accused of immigration and other offences.
The cases have placed questions of illegal entry, deportation, detention and the effectiveness of immigration penalties firmly in the public spotlight.
For Parliament, the challenge will be to produce legislation that is firm enough to protect national interests while being practical enough to accommodate the realities of communities living along Eswatini’s borders.
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