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Sierra Leone has begun receiving migrants deported by the United States under a newly struck agreement with Washington, as the Trump administration intensifies its use of third-country removal deals across Africa and beyond.
Nine West Africans — seven men and two women from Ghana, Senegal, Guinea and Nigeria — landed in Freetown on Wednesday aboard a U.S. deportation flight, marking the first visible sign of an arrangement that Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba confirmed to reporters last week. Under the deal, Freetown has agreed to accept up to 300 West African deportees annually from the U.S., with arrivals capped at 25 per month.
The deportees were received by Kenvah Solutions, a private contractor engaged to house them at two hotels near the airport. Patrick Robin, the company’s head, said those arriving would be accommodated for up to a fortnight. “We will look after them in a dignified and comfortable way for up to two weeks,” he said, adding that in “exceptional circumstances” some could stay in the facilities for 30 days.
What remains unresolved is how long the deportees can legally remain in Sierra Leone beyond that initial period — and what protections, if any, apply to them. A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The arrangement echoes a similar deal Washington struck with Ghana, which also agreed to absorb deportees originating from elsewhere in West Africa.
At least one of Wednesday’s arrivals appeared reluctant to disembark, according to a witness, and had to be persuaded to leave the aircraft. Robin, however, said “most of” those who arrived in Sierra Leone on Wednesday said they wanted to go home.
What Sierra Leone stands to gain from the arrangement remains opaque. Washington has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal, and a State Department spokesperson declined to comment. A report published in February by Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee noted that the full cost of third-country removal programmes was unknown, but said more than $32 million had been paid directly to five countries — Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau — as part of similar arrangements
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah