Transport companies have expressed increasing concern about the plight of their drivers, some of whom have been robbed at gunpoint while queueing at busy border posts (see article headline Congested Borders create fertile ground for crime, FTW October 26).
Speaking to FTW on condition of anonymity several drivers have told of the horrendous conditions experienced at the border posts, particularly at Kasumbalesa into the DRC where drivers are being robbed of their belongings at gunpoint by soldiers.
“We have been stuck for six days at Kisanga customs parking in Lubumbashi because of the attacks,” said one driver. At the time of speaking to FTW he said several trucks had been attacked the night before while waiting in the queue. Drivers, he said, were fearing for their lives. “We can’t move from here because we cannot risk going to the border queue because the trucks are being attacked by soldiers. They have guns and they will kill you,” he said.
Trucks are mandated to wait in the Kisanga parking until there is a slot open at the border. It takes an average of two to three days due to the congestion at Kasumbalesa before they even get to the actual border queue which is sometimes more than 15km long. This means it takes days on end to move through this border post between the DRC and Zambia. Drivers said it was not the first incident of its kind.
“This has been happening for a long time but it has always been reported as if it is just thieves, but it is not. It is the DRC soldiers in uniforms with guns. The police say they can’t do anything as they are scared of the soldiers.” One of the drivers said soldiers demanded money and any other personal belongings from drivers at gunpoint. “They break the truck windows and they just take everything.
“We are stuck, we don’t know what to do.” Army officials from the DRC were scheduled to meet with truck drivers at Kisanga to discuss the issue, but at the time of going to press no details of the meeting were available. Another driver said the situation in the “southern region is just getting worse”.
“There has even been talk of the borders being closed so that the DRC and the Zambian governments can find a solution quickly. These queues are long and there is nothing we can do when the soldiers come with their guns.” He said there was simply no security.
“Drivers are people. They are being attacked and robbed. The soldiers for the Congo government, the army force of this country, attack drivers.” He said drivers could move ahead of the queue but it required money. “You have to pay $20 to overtake in the queue,” he said. And that in itself created another problem because those drivers known to have money on them were then specifically targeted.
Most of the drivers FTW spoke to said money was the first thing taken by the soldiers whether it was their own money to buy food and other amenities or the cash given to them by companies for fees and levies to customs.
“But they take anything, your food, your clothes, bedding,” he said. Whilst safety is a primary concern for the drivers, the issue is far more complex as shocking sanitary and health conditions exist. “This is not a good thing. People are tired. They are sitting in their trucks waiting, not knowing when they will be attacked. Sometimes you sleep in that queue for four days or five days or longer. But there are no toilets, no bathrooms, no water. Life is very difficult for a driver to survive. How can this carry on?”
He said this was exacerbated when they were robbed of food and money. Mike Fitzmaurice, CEO of the Federation of East and Southern Africa Road Transport Associations (Fesarta), said the problem was escalating and urgent government intervention was required.
We can’t move from here because we cannot risk going to the border queue because the trucks are being attacked by soldiers. – Truck driver
Damages to a truck after the driver was robbed at gunpoint by soldiers at a border post in the DRC.
