Twelve Malawians who were arrested and deported from Israel for contravening contractual agreements now face legal action as agencies demand to recover costs incurred during processing of their visas and air tickets, Nthanda Times has established.

One of the agencies whose clients are among the deportees, the Workers for Arava Farmers, confirmed the development in an interview with a local press, stressing that they are considering taking their clients to court to secure compensations from their clients.

Justice Kangulu, the agency’s Managing Director said that they entered into a contract with their clients that they are supposed to pay back some costs for visas and air tickets.

“They [the workers] entered into a contract which, among others, obliges them to pay back for some costs. They remain liable until they have paid back. That’s all we can say for now. We were supposed to deduct the repayments for a period of nine months. Thereafter, they would be free,” said Kangulu.

In a separate interview, Lions Recruitment Agency Managing Director Chifundo Banda, whose clients are also among the deportees, said they are not aware of the exact number of their clients who have been deported, but confirmed that they will take a legal action to secure their loans back.

“We are uncertain about the number of individuals associated with the Lions Recruitment Agency. It is probable that there will be legal implications with the bank due to the loans they have taken,” said Banda.

The 12 Malawians were among the 42 foreign workers who were arrested last week after they were found working at a bakery in Tel Aviv, leaving their farms, which the Ministry of Information and Digitization described as breaching of visa terms