Since the first five deportees were flown from the United States on a military plane in July, authorities have blocked the lawyer from visiting them at the high-security prison where they are held.
Another 10 arrived in October and had also reached out, via their relatives, for assistance, the lawyer told AFP in an interview.
The expulsions are part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants which has seen scores removed to countries in Africa and Central America.
“Eswatini finds itself participating in what I can call human trafficking or kidnapping because you cannot have these third-party state deportees being housed (here) while denying them access to lawyers,” Nhlabatsi said.
“They are far from their families, so their relatives cannot come here, yet they are being denied a basic right,” he said.
Authorities have released few details about the deportees in Eswatini, who are from diverse countries including Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. One — a Jamaican — was repatriated in September.
After being refused access by prison authorities, Nhlabatsi turned to the High Court which in early October agreed that local lawyers should be allowed to visit the detainees.
But the government appealed the ruling and “that access has not yet been facilitated,” said Nhlabatsi, who is in his mid-40s.
Lawyers have also asked the courts to oblige the government to make public the details of its deal with Washington.
A text revealed by Human Rights Watch and some media, and seen by AFP, says Eswatini agreed to take 160 deportees in exchange for US$5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity”.
“I believe the country concentrated on financial gain and overlooked every aspect of international law,” Nhlabatsi said.
Weaponisation
Poverty and unemployment are high among Eswatini’s 1.2 million population, with 58 percent of the youth without jobs, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The autocratic ruler, King Mswati III, has held power for 39 years, openly flaunting his wealth with a lavish lifestyle.
Political parties have been banned since 1973 and calling for democratic reforms risks terrorism or sedition charges.
An example of the “weaponisation of the judiciary” in the deteriorating human rights environment was the jailing in 2021 of two opposition MPs accused of inciting unrest during pro-democracy protests, the lawyer said.
One of them — Mthandeni Dube, sentenced to 18 years in prison — was freed on Tuesday after apologising to the king and agreeing not to make public speeches or join protests.
“Even though one of them has since apologised, that does not change the fact that they should not have been convicted in the first place,” Nhlabatsi said.
Since the 2021 protests, when at least 37 people were killed, “civic space has shrunk, the independence of the judiciary is questionable, and the rule of law remains under threat,” Nhlabatsi said.
Ticking time bomb
In 2023, human rights lawyer and fierce critic of the authorities Thulani Maseko was gunned down in a killing that shocked many beyond the borders of Eswatini. There have still been no arrests for the murder.
“I began to truly fear for my safety after the assassination of Thulani Maseko because I had worked closely with him,” Nhlabatsi said.
“What shocked and terrified me was that he was a man of peace. And I know for a fact that the state also knew that he never advocated violence in any form,” said the formal but friendly lawyer.
Eswatini needs change, including a move away from its system of royal favouritism and patronage that is eating into government finances, he said.
“It is not sustainable,” Nhlabatsi said, describing the desperation for jobs in particular as a “cry for help, a ticking time bomb.”