Friday, March 29, 2024

Lawyers file more evidence against Anglo in Kabwe lead poisoning case

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South African legal firm Mbuyisa Moleele and its UK counterpart Leigh Day have filed further evidence in the Johannesburg High Court in an attempt to convince it that Anglo American SA should face a class action case in South Africa for lead poisoning that took place in Kabwe.

The contamination allegedly occurred at a now-defunct Kabwe mine, and the two firms are arguing Anglo American SA, which provided technical and other services to it, knew about the poisoning at the time.

Lawyers accuse Anglo American of being the mine’s operator for the period when it produced two-thirds of its lead, the company denies it ever owned the assets.

Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines operated the Kabwe mine for 20 years after it was nationalized until it was closed.

“Anglo’s attempt to blame its successor, ZCCM, for the present lead contamination does not stack up,” the legal firms said in an emailed statement.

“It is contradictory for Anglo to argue, on the one hand, that elevated soil and blood lead levels are not due to the mine and, on the other hand, to accuse ZCCM of ‘recklessness and neglect’ over its handling of the mining operations and failure to clean-up.”

Anglo American said it isn’t responsible for the current situation.

The operator was Zambia Broken Hill Development Company and while it provided services, it “at no stage owned or operated the mine,” the company said in an emailed response to questions.

Mbuyisa Moleele and Leigh Day first filed the suit in 2020 on behalf of a group they estimate of more than 100,000 people in Kabwe.

A hearing on whether the class action proceeds is expected later this year, the firms said.

The lawyers said blood lead levels there have caused cognitive impairment in a large proportion of the population and are higher than the levels of residents in Flint, Michigan, where a more than $600 million settlement was reached with people who suffered from lead poisoning.

“ZCCM’s own records show that there was a significant deterioration of operating standards under its ownership post 1974 –- with the collapse and eventual removal of the critical air pollution control devices -– and that the period post-1989 most likely represents the worst period of lead pollution,” Anglo American said.

4 COMMENTS

  1. More than 30 years have gone past with many witnesses passed away. No chance this will ever be concluded successfully, while the lead pollution continues unabated. And the New Dawn government does NOTHING

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  2. MONEY FOR LAWYERS ONLY !!
    AND A WASTE OF TIME
    HOW DO T^HEY STAND A CHANCE ANYWAY
    TAKE A LOOK AT THE MINE NOW HOUSES SHOPS AND VENDORS ALL OVER !! IN A POLLUTED AREA
    DOES THIS REFLECT SAFETY CONCERNS
    ANGLO MAY HAVE BEEN VERY WRONG INDEED BUT THEN HAS PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS
    THIS IS JUSTB A MONEY MAKING VENTURE FOR SOME

  3. I am not advocating for pollution, however, There is a lot of arsenic poisoning in a lot of rivers and streams close closed gold mines in South Africa. Not to mention untreated sewer from some municipalities. Why don’t these lawyers seek justice closer to home in South Africa. Which Kabwe residents called for their help. How will the benefits from this case if it were to be successful disbursed? Who is bankrolling these lawyers? What percentage will go to the lawyers. Why didn’t these lawyers jump on a more recent pollution case for Vendatta in Chingola? Is this a struggle between two corporations using the people of Kabwe as pawns on a chessboard? I sense ulterior motives. Don’t be lazy to think before you comment

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