Borders serve as the physical display of a nation’s sovereignty, identifying the territory under its control.
Even the smallest international borders are usually marked by strict security and border control.
For example the frontier between North Korea and South Korea the demilitarized zone (DMZ) stretches for about 155 miles, marked by high fences and barbed wire. It was established between the two countries at the end of World War Two and the border is one of the most heavily militarized in the world.
However, the 150-metre long boundary between the sub-Saharan African countries of Botswana to the southeast and Zambia to the northwest is absolutely tiny in comparison – and is one of the shortest land boundaries in the world.
The Botswana-Zambia border connects two tripoints on the Zambezi River, in a small town called Kazunglua in Zambia.
The town is actually the point at which four countries come close to meeting – Zimbabwe and Namibia as well – a site known as a quadripoint.
The boundaries were made while the nations were under colonial rule and while all four of the other boundaries received official delimitations, the Botswana–Zambia frontier has never been formally agreed upon.
The ever-shifting river channels and the lack of any agreements addressing the issue before 2000 led to some uncertainty in the past as to whether or not a quadripoint legally existed.
It has now been acknowledged that the international boundaries contain two tripoints joined by a short line roughly 150 metres (490ft) long, now crossed by the Kazungula Bridge. Today, the two states maintain good political relations.
The bridge – a road and rail bridge – opened for traffic in May 2021, replacing the Kazungula Ferry.
The 923-metre-long by 18.5-metre-wide bridge has a longest span of 129 metres and is curved to avoid the nearby borders of Zimbabwe and Namibia. The bridge has a single-line railway track between two traffic lanes and pavements for pedestrians.
During the building of the Kazungula Bridge, Zimbabwe disputed that there was a direct border between Botswana and Zambia. Zimbabwe claimed that Botswana and Zambia do not have a direct border, but rather the border was actually between Zimbabwe and Namibia.
What Botswana was claiming to be its land crossing the Zambezi was actually Zimbabwe’s land and warned that this might lead to war.
In April 2014, when asked about the the Kazungula Bridge in Parliament, Zimbabwe’s then Transport Minister Obert Mpofu said: “So, the position of government is that there is no direct border between Botswana and Zambia.
“If a bridge has to be constructed in that area, it will have to go through Zimbabwe, hence the stalemate.”
Botswana and Zambia, realising their mistake, asked Namibia for permission to use its land, and Namibia agreed. The bridge was then redesigned to curve, thus avoiding Zimbabwean land.