THERE is a famous Bemba adage which says that, ‘Umulandu taubola’, simply meaning that no matter how long it takes, a case will never die or just become stale.
Indeed, no matter how much a part of the case tries to suppress or bury the evidence any case is bound to resurface one day or another until is it disposed of conclusively.
Take the instance of Kabwe, where the Kabwe lead mine, closed now nearly 30 years ago, after allegedly poisoning thousands of children, earning the former mining town the title of one of the top 10 most contaminated cities in the world.
This is due to fumes containing life-threatening levels of soil particles with lead reaching the town and surrounding communities in Kabwe.
The situation was compounded by the lack of a cleanup process after the mine closed in 1994.
Nearly three decades down the lane, evidence is emerging to the effect that the investor, Anglo America Corporation, might have been aware about the risks and the effect the mine posed to residents, especially children, as early as 1970.
The investors might have allegedly glossed over the issue despite the evidence that some children had presented symptoms of lead poisoning and reports were allegedly made to that effect.
This is according to a key witness who has come forward for the victims in the proceedings in the class action lawsuit against lead poisoning in Kabwe.
According to Dr Ian Lawrence, a former Kabwe medical doctor, Anglo America Corporation allegedly knew of the lead poisoning crisis as early as 1970 and yet did not seem to have done much in terms of remediation.
Dr Lawrence, who was based at the Kabwe mine from 1969 to early 1970s, highlights the extent to which Anglo knew about the dangers of lead poisoning in Kabwe as early as 1970.
This crucially, counters Anglo’s argument that it bears no responsibility for the lead poisoning in the community.
Law firms Mbuyisa Moleele and Leigh Day stated this yesterday as Anglo American South Africa went to court to delay proceedings in South African High Court in the case.
We are hopeful that no matter how long and how much it takes, the 100,000-plus children of Kabwe who are victims of the alleged lead poisoning as the result of many years of mining activities by Anglo America, will get justice someday.
The case will also act as a reminder to many multinational investors in Zambia and elsewhere to be wary of their environmental obligations, while their investments are subsisting in their host countries and well after!
We would want to pay tribute to the two law firms, Mbuyisa Moleele Attorney, a Johannesburg-based law firm and Leigh Day, a leading international law firm specialising in human rights and mass environmental tort claims for taking up the case on behalf the involved Kabwe residents.
Similarly, Dr Lawrence should receive sincere thanks for volunteering his evidence against the multinational mining company.
Once more, we are hopeful that the South African High Court will rule for the victims to ensure justice and closure to the issue of lead poisoning in Kabwe, because ‘umulandu taubola!’