Kabwe is the capital of the
ZambianCentral Province and the
Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 202,914 at the 2010 census.[1] Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when
lead and
zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also has a claim to being the birthplace of Zambian politics as it was an important political centre during the colonial period.[2][3]
Kabwe is an important transportation, farming and university centre. Kabwe is becoming a major agricultural hub for the country is the headquarters for Zambia Railways and prison services. Additionally the mining industry has been important to the economic development of the region. However, because of the exceptional contamination of the city with lead and other toxins, and the effects of these on local children's health, a March 2022 report by the
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment identified the town as a
sacrifice zone for industry.[4]
History
Headquarters of Zambia Railways
The first railway in the country, operated by
Rhodesian Railways when the territory was administered as
North-Western Rhodesia the rail line reached
Broken Hill mine as early as 1906, and the town became the northern base for the railway, which was the second biggest employer after the
mining industry. A locomotive maintenance facility was constructed there. In 1909 the railway reached
Ndola in the Lambaland which was to become the
Copperbelt.[citation needed]
Today, the town is the headquarters of
Zambia Railways but employment levels on the railway have been heavily cut.[citation needed]
Independence protest
Reflecting Kabwe's central location and railway union base, it was chosen as the site for a rally held on October 26, 1958, at
Mulungushi Rock north of the city by the
Kaunda-
Kapwepwe breakaway group from the
Zambian African National Congress. Later, they founded the political party
UNIP which led the successful independence movement and continued to hold conferences at
Mulungushi Rock, which became known as the 'birthplace of independence' in Zambia.[2]
Districts
Makululu
A large informal settlement on the outskirts of the city, Makululu is an important district in the town.[5] The settlement is on the edge of the
Lukanga Swamp, and is thus vulnerable to flooding.[5] Similarly, the water is highly contaminated from both poor sanitation and the broader industrial pollution from the mine.[citation needed]
A study by the
Blacksmith Institute found Kabwe to be one of the ten most polluted places in the world due mostly to heavy metal (mostly zinc and lead) tailings making their way into the local water supply.[6] A 2014 report indicates that children's blood lead levels continue to be elevated even though mining has stopped.[7] A 2020 study, found high levels of lead and cadmium in blood levels.[8] A March 2022 report by the
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment identified the town as a
sacrifice zone for industry.[4]
Other studies, have found high potential for copper, cobalt and other non-lead materials in leachate from the mine.[9]
A
class action lawsuit was launched against
Anglo American plc, alleging that it ignored the required safety standards despite knowing about the harms caused. Anglo-American was the majority owner of the mine from 1925 until its 1974 nationalization by the Zambian government. A certification hearing was held at the
High Court of South Africa's Johannesburg branch in February 2023.[10]
On February 7, 2013, a
bus collided with two cars near Kabwe, killing 53 people. It was one of the worst road accidents in Zambian history.[12][13]
Industries and agriculture
Historically the economy of Kabwe has been dominated by the mine. Other industries include pharmaceuticals, milling and cotton ginning, and Kabwe's first Drinking Water Plant (Aquador Purifed Water) and
leather tanning.[14]
Commercial farming areas surround the city about 10 km from the centre, and the road and rail links provide ready access to the markets of the Copperbelt and Lusaka.[citation needed]
The name Kabwe or Kabwe-Ka Mukuba means 'ore' or 'smelting' but the European/Australian prospectors named it Broken Hill after a similar mine in
Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.[14] The mine was the largest in the country for around thirty years until it was overtaken in the early 1930s by larger copper mining complexes on the
Copperbelt. Apart from lead and zinc it also produced
silver,
manganese and heavy metals such as
cadmium,
vanadium, and
titanium in smaller quantities.[15]
Anglo American plc became the majority owner of the mine in 1925, until the mine was nationalized in 1974 by the Zambian government, who closed it in 1994.[10]
The mine, which occupies a 2.5 km2 site 1 km south-west of the town centre, is closed but metals are still extracted from old
tailings.
Closure of the mine led to economic decline for Kabwe.[14] It has a number of
manufacturing industries including the Zambia-China Mulungushi
textiles plant established with Chinese investment in the 1980s, but after suffering large losses this plant closed (temporarily according to management) at the beginning of 2007.[citation needed]