The Copperbelt crossing of Kasumbalesa between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was this morning confirmed as still closed after irate long-distance drivers went on strike last week, bringing a state of bedlam to the oftentimes beleaguered border.
This emerged after sporadic acts of violent crime by assailants along the road from Kasumbalesa north-west into the DRC’s mining areas prompted drivers – mainly from Zambia – to refuse to enter the DRC.
A transporter based in Lusaka said the queue of trucks refusing to move, while others were trying to navigate past, stretched all the way to Chingola, almost 50 kilometres south of Kasumbalesa.
The Chief Executive of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta) said an attempt had been made over the weekend to resolve the impasse between the DRC and truckers heading in that direction.
Mike Fitzmaurice said an executive from the Zambian Revenue Authority had confirmed that government ministers from both countries were there on Saturday to talk to the truckers.
Amid the usual assurances that something would be done to safeguard truckers on their way in and out of the DRC, drivers decided not to take the bait this time.
“They’re fed up,” Fitzmaurice said.
“The DRC is a criminal institution and the drivers have had enough. They have had enough of empty promises and don’t believe assurances any more that their lives will be protected.”
The situation at the border is in large part because of attacks last week that were reportedly so severe that two drivers died from the wounds they sustained – although Fitzmaurice could not confirm the deaths.
However, members of cross-border transport groups have been widely circulating footage of violence and intimidation, clearly showing how trucks are stopped at random ‘road blocks’ where drivers are threatened to pay or else.
At some points the ‘fee’ to proceed is as much as US$100.
According to one transporter, the threat is particularly felt beyond Lubumbashi, capital of the DRC’s Copperbelt province of Haut Katanga.
He said it had become so bad that some transporters were beginning to pull out of the DRC.
“I know of at least one company that has told its client in the DRC they are pulling out. It’s simply not worth it any more. Our drivers are getting stopped by people living along the road as well as corrupt law enforcers, and it’s always the same thing – violent bribery.”
Fitzmaurice confirmed that the police and military personnel were in on the illegal toll fee collection.
Footage from the cabin of a truck stopped in the DRC shows a young man rolling a tyre into the road in front of a truck while another approaches with a rock in his hand.
Much pleading ensues from the driver while the assailants shout threats peppered with words like “shoota”.
A transporter said although drivers were arming themselves with pangas and clubs, “it’s a losing battle”.
“These people (the assailants) are often armed with guns and they don’t care. Drivers unwilling to do as they are told either get beaten up or, worst-case scenario, shot.”
