More than 250 trucks have been brought to a standstill on the Kasumbalesa road in Haut-Katanga province, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after a scanning checkpoint was installed on one of the country’s most strategically important commercial corridors, causing paralysis that has now stretched on for several days.
According to testimonies gathered on location, each truck is required to pass through a scanner and pay a fee of 100 US dollars before it can proceed.
The device was reportedly set up on the orders of interim governor Martin Kazembe.
The combination of the mandatory fee and the time required to process each vehicle has created gridlock on a route that serves as a critical artery for trade between the DRC and Zambia, with goods moving in both directions through the Kasumbalesa border crossing, one of the busiest land entry points in Central Africa.
Drivers and transport operators on the ground are describing the situation as an administrative and economic stranglehold.
The road, which carries mining exports, consumer goods, and cross-border freight, cannot absorb the delays without significant knock-on consequences for supply chains on both sides of the border.
With over 250 vehicles immobilised and no clear indication of when normal movement will resume, the financial losses accumulating for transporters, traders and their clients are substantial.
Haut-Katanga province has faced mounting logistical and commercial difficulties in recent months, and this latest disruption adds pressure to a regional economy already under strain.
The Kasumbalesa axis is not merely a provincial road. It is a nationally significant route whose smooth functioning underpins trade relationships that extend well beyond the DRC’s borders.
Its paralysis, even for a few days, sends a damaging signal to the businesses and investors who depend on reliable movement of goods through this corridor.
No official statement from the interim governor’s office explaining the rationale for the scanning device or the fee structure had been issued at the time of publication.