By JONATHAN MUKUKA –

TRAFFIC has slowly started leaving the border town of Tunduma, Tanzania into Zambia amid tight security on both sides of the Nakonde border.
Heavy duty trucks including fuel tankers, however, as at 16:00 hours yesterday had not yet started rolling into Zambia as security officials in Tanzania fought harder to keep the protesting residents at bay.
The protesters have now been pushed over six kilometres away from the border on the Tanzanian side.
Nakonde border was on Tuesday closed to the public after 09:00 hours following the confusion that erupted at Tunduma.
Supporters of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) have been fighting over a disputed piece of land.
A check at the border in Nakonde yesterday in the morning revealed that the border had opened and closed twice because of the volatile situation on the other side of the border.
Only small newly imported vehicles were allowed to cross into Zambia from Tunduma when the border opened briefly on two occasions yesterday.
It is believed that an opposition political party planned to build a big hospital at the border town and the Tanzanian Government also planned to build a similar structure on the same piece of land, hence the two parties clashing.
Briefing the Press yesterday, Muchinga Permanent Secretary Bright Nundwe said calm had returned at the border and customs gates on both Zambia and Tanzania were expected to open to the public.
Mr Nundwe said authorities at Nakonde border closed the border at 09:00 hours on Tuesday when the situation became volatile on the Tanzanian side.
He said that as at 10:00 hours yesterday, calm had returned on the Tanzanian side and authorities on both Zambia and Tanzania sides decided to open the customs gates to the public.
However, just after one hour of opening the gates, serious fighting erupted again at Tunduma forcing authorities to close the gates for security reasons.
A check in the afternoon revealed that residents of Tunduma were still involved in serious fighting with the police.
Police fired tear gas canisters and live bullets in the air to scare away the irate slogan-chanting protesters.
The flow of traffic into Zambia has been greatly affected with long queues of vehicles waiting to cross into Zambia stretching over a distance of 10 kilometers from Tunduma border.
Vehicles marooned at Tunduma border include fuel tankers which are supposed to ferry the fuel to Ndola on the Copperbelt but cannot cross the border due to the violence there.
There are also more than 200 trucks waiting to enter Tanzania from the Zambian side. The trucks have been parked at various private dry ports, six to eight kilometres away from Nakonde border.
Cross border traders from Lusaka and the Copperbelt are also still stranded at Nakonde border as they cannot cross the border into Tanzania to buy their merchandise.