The Kobero One Stop Border Post (OSBP) is a border crossing between Burundi and Tanzania. It is located in the Muyinga region of Burundi, near Kabanga in Tanzania. We arrived there in the afternoon, and all procedures took us around 3 hours, mainly due to traffic at the border.
We filled our tank in Tanzania at the last gasoline station, Ngara Oil (3069 TZS / liter), because there has been a diesel shortage in Burundi for years. Then we drove to the first checkpoint, where Burundian authorities issued a health certificate (free of charge) and verified our Yellow Fever Certificate. Then, we bypassed the queue of trucks with the help of local police to the first gate, where we got stamped our CPD from Tanzanian Customs. The entrance was blocked with trucks, so we bribed another policeman (2 USD), who jumped into the front seat, and we drove in the opposite direction to the main building.
Many fixers tried to sell us SIM cards or change money (7000 BIF / USD). Getting one was unavoidable, so we went with him to the bank to pay for the visa in dollars (40 USD / 3 days, using a rate of 2948 BIF / USD). Then we returned to the main building, where we got a Tanzanian exit stamp and processed the receipt for the visa payment. After that, we went to the next window to get our passports stamped. Then, we stamped our CPD with Burundian Customs and returned to the truck. At the exit gate, some customs officers approached us to check the stamp in our CPD and wanted to search the truck. To avoid this, we paid an additional 2 USD. After the exit, we paid the fixer 10 USD.
We purchased Lumitel SIM cards (20000 BIF) and activated a data package (7 GB per week, 23000 BIF). During these transactions, a truck again surrounded around 100 people, offering money exchange and SIM cards. It was really messy, and in one moment, we even called the nearby police officers to remove the most aggressive ones. Then we drove out of the border and, after 200 meters, finally reached a tarmac road.
Parking location – Kabanga: 2.646602S 30.459020E (🚻)