On the evening of 29 October 2024, a reception room adorned in colonial style within London’s Palace of Westminster served as the venue for a panel discussion led by Lord Hain. Known as Peter Hain, he previously held various roles in the UK’s Blair administration.
As honorary vice president of the charity Action for Southern Africa, Hain was among the speakers who provided an update on the ongoing class action lawsuit involving residents of the Zambian town of Kabwe and the multinational mining corporation Anglo American.
The case focuses on the critical health crisis in Kabwe, where hazardous levels of lead contamination have impacted and continue to affect numerous local inhabitants. Previously a thriving center for lead mining and smelting under British colonial rule, Kabwe is now regarded as one of the most lead-polluted regions globally.
Lead mining in Kabwe commenced in 1906 and persisted for almost 90 years, significantly affecting the local environment and its inhabitants. Anglo American managed the mine from 1925 to 1974. During this period, the company purportedly did not enforce sufficient safety protocols, leading to widespread contamination that has adversely affected the local population’s health for many years.
The claimants contend that the health hazards linked to lead exposure were predictable and that Anglo American failed to fulfill its duty to protect its employees and the surrounding community.
Lead contamination in Kabwe has reached a critical level. Certain areas exhibit soil lead concentrations surpassing 3,000 mg/kg, significantly exceeding the maximum limit of 400 mg/kg set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, Kabwe has earned the designation of “the world’s most toxic town,” primarily due to the alarmingly high rates of childhood lead poisoning in the area.
Information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that a blood lead level (BLL) of 3.5 µg/dL or higher necessitates urgent public health action. Disturbingly, children residing near the Kabwe mine have been recorded with BLLs over ten times this critical threshold.
In 2020, a class action lawsuit was initiated against Anglo American South Africa (AASA), a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange-listed Anglo American plc. The lawsuit, filed by South African law firm Mbuyisa Moleele Attorneys in partnership with UK law firm Leigh Day, contends that the company neglected to prevent dangerous lead exposure associated with its operations at the Kabwe mine. The case represents a class of approximately 140,000 Zambian children and women of childbearing age.
In January 2023, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg reviewed the request to certify the class action. The court rejected the certification in December 2023, but Mbuyisa Moleele Attorneys and Leigh Day persisted in their efforts on behalf of the Kabwe community. Their determination was rewarded in April of this year when Justice Leonie Windell, presiding over the Johannesburg High Court, granted the right to appeal.
Windell noted that there were “reasonable prospects of success on at least one ground of appeal” and identified “compelling reasons to grant the appeal, as class action law is still evolving in South Africa.” She acknowledged that “there are current matters of law of public importance which directly implicate constitutional rights.”
Although a date for the appeal before the Supreme Court of South Africa has not yet been established, the law firms anticipate submitting heads of arguments in the coming months. The court will likely reach a decision in the first half of 2025.
More information: https://www.childrenofkabwe.com/
