Mwanza border immigration spokesperson, Pasqually Zulu, says the 24 men and three women arrived through the border on Wednesday.

"They told us during an interrogation that they left Malawi as a group six months ago using unchartered routes between Dedza and Ntcheu heading for South Africa without any travel documents," Zulu told Zodiak Online.

He says travelling without proper documents and use of unchartered routes remains a biggest challenge the department of immigration and citizenship services is facing despite the department efforts to bringing services closer to people.

All precautions not to import Covid-19 into the country were looked into before releasing them to their respective districts.

International Organisation for Migration (I.O.M) sponsored the return of the deportees, most of whom are from Mangochi, Balaka and Machinga districts.