MBABANE – It has since been revealed that the Sri Lankan national who committed suicide at a guesthouse at Lobamba last weekend was a former asylum seeker who spent nearly five years detained on the British-controlled island of Diego Garcia.
The 36-year-old man, identified as KP, was found hanging from the rafters at the guesthouse on September 13, according to a report by this publication.
His death was reported to the police and investigations were launched.
The New Humanitarian has now revealed that KP was a Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seeker who had been detained by the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) administration for nearly five years before being relocated to Eswatini.
According to the publication, KP was one of 89 Tamil asylum seekers who had fled Sri Lanka and India before being rescued by the Royal Navy in October 2021 after their fishing vessel encountered difficulties near Diego Garcia, which is part of BIOT.
Hundreds of additional asylum seekers reportedly arrived on later vessels, with most agreeing to return to Sri Lanka or leaving by boat for Mauritius or the French island of Réunion.
About 60 remained in BIOT custody and lived in a fenced tent camp within the tightly controlled UK-US military facility on Diego Garcia.
The New Humanitarian reported that those held there faced conditions including rat infestations, deteriorating psychological and medical conditions and strict restrictions on movement.
Most of the group were approved to enter the United Kingdom in November 2024.
The following month, the BIOT Supreme Court ruled that their detention on the island had been unlawful, according to the publication.
However, KP was among three members of the group who were denied entry into the UK because of criminal convictions or criminal investigations during their detention.
The New Humanitarian reported that KP was one of eight members of the Diego Garcia group who were granted international protection following individual assessments.
The protection meant that he could not be forcibly returned to Sri Lanka.
However, he was barred from entering the UK with the rest of the group because of a series of criminal convictions.
In 2025, a UK court dismissed his legal challenge against the decision to bar him from entering the country, allowing the government to rely on public safety concerns.
With his return to Sri Lanka ruled out and the UK refusing him admission, relocation to a third country became his remaining option.
The publication reported that KP was subsequently transferred from Diego Garcia to the Maldives before being brought to Eswatini.
His mother reportedly told The New Humanitarian that he was transferred to the Maldives about six months before his death and brought to Eswatini about a month later.
She said he received two successive three-month visas, with the second due to expire on September 20.
Previous reports indicated that an agreement between the United Kingdom and Eswatini governments allowed KP to remain in the country permanently.
It had also been reported that, after a period of up to three years, the UK would no longer cover the costs of his continued stay in Eswatini and that he would be expected to become self-sustaining.
The relocation of the Sri Lankan national to Eswatini had previously been raised in Parliament.
The New Humanitarian reported that it approached the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the BIOT administration for clarification on KP’s status in Eswatini and the circumstances surrounding his death.
A government spokesperson reportedly said: “We are working with the Eswatini local authorities at this time. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
A lawyer from Duncan Lewis Solicitors, which represented KP in legal challenges against the UK and BIOT governments, reportedly said the firm was not authorised to comment.
The publication reported that KP had fled to India in 2007 after escaping from the Sri Lankan military.
It reported that he had been subjected to serious abuse before fleeing the country.
During his detention on Diego Garcia, KP reportedly made several suicide attempts.
Court records cited by The New Humanitarian reportedly show that he attempted suicide numerous times, sometimes in quick succession, resulting in a medical evacuation to Bahrain in 2024.
In response to his behaviour and deteriorating condition, BIOT authorities reportedly kept him separated from the other asylum seekers.
He was confined for about eight months in a laundry room, with supervised access to other areas of the compound, and spent two weeks alone in a police cell without natural light.
Following a monitoring visit in late 2023, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, reportedly expressed concern about the conditions in which he was being held.
The concerns included noise, leaking showers and toilet smells in his sleeping area.
“While we understand the need to separate him from the community, his right to privacy and to be accommodated in a humane and dignified manner must be upheld,” the monitoring team said in a 2024 report, according to The New Humanitarian.
The publication also reported that an asylum seeker recalled seeing KP walking alone, screaming at night and threatening to harm himself with a shard of a broken mirror.
A psychiatrist quoted in 2024 court proceedings reportedly said prolonged isolation was difficult for KP and that ending his isolation would improve his mental health.
The New Humanitarian reported that KP’s mother spoke to him on the day he died.
She reportedly said he sounded depressed during the conversation and that she asked him to return to India.
According to the publication, KP appeared not to understand, or did not believe, that his stay in Eswatini was permanent.
He reportedly told his mother that he intended to wait in Eswatini for a few days before being sent to another country.
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