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“When the River Weeps: Rural Women Voice Concerns and Demands for Justice in the Wake of Kafue-Mwambashi Pollution”

The people of Chingola, Kalulushi, and Ndola have experienced one of the worst industrial pollution disasters ever encountered in recent Zambian history. On February 18, 2025, a catastrophic environmental disaster unfolded in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province when a tailings dam at the Sino-Metals Leach Zambia copper mine collapsed. This failure released approximately 50 million liters of acidic and toxic mining waste into the Mwambashi River, a tributary of the Kafue River. The spill severely contaminated the river system, affecting aquatic life, agriculture, and water supplies for communities downstream for over 1000 kilometres. 

In a much needed webinar convened by the Rural Women’s Assembly Zambia in collaboration with People’s Dialogue Network, voices from the affected communities highlighted the reality on the ground: a heartbreaking situation of lost livelihoods, destroyed ecosystems, and government inaction. In the aftermath of one of Zambia’s worst environmental disasters, communities along the Mwambashi and Kafue rivers continue to raise pressing questions that demand urgent, coordinated responses. Across the affected districts and beyond, residents have lost access to clean water, fertile land, and critical livelihoods. Despite minor interventions such as water bowsers and emergency rations, the crisis remains deeply unresolved. “We are not just dealing with pollution,” one community member in Chingola stated. “We are dealing with the loss of life, dignity, and the future of our children.” The webinar brought together over 30 rural women affected by the pollution and had at least 100 more people join in solidarity.

Testimonies

1. Chingola – Bernadette and Caritas Members

“We’ve had pollution before,” Bernadette from Caritas said. “Before Mwambashi, there was another spill in Upper Mwambashi caused by Minbula Minerals. People got sick. The land was polluted. Government said they would compensate the affected people, but until now, we don’t know what happened. No one came back to update us.” She paused, then added, “Now it’s worse. The Mwambashi pollution spread into the Kafue River, which is where most of Chingola gets its water. The whole community was affected. Water stopped coming. We had nothing.” 

Bernadette continued, clearly frustrated:

“They gave people 1,000 kwacha and a bag of mealie meal. That’s it. How does that help? Our gardens are gone. Our water is gone. The trees are dry. The fish died. Even now, the water is still black.”

2. Ndola – Community Advocate

From Ndola, Grace spoke calmly but firmly.

“Some people didn’t even know the river was polluted. They continued fishing. They ate the fish. Some of them later got sick—serious stomach pain, diarrhoea, and skin issues. Others stepped in the water and their feet were burned.” She explained that there’s still no clear plan from the authorities or the mining companies. “We’ve seen that these companies don’t care. They’ve polluted our rivers. They’re making profits while people are suffering. We want justice.”

3. Kalulushi – Eugene and Women Farmers

In Kalulushi, Eugene was on the ground with women from affected communities.

One woman shared:

“No one has talked to us. No one asked what we lost. They just came, dropped off two bags of mealie meal and a few sachets of water and left. But we can’t farm. The soil is damaged. The river is poisoned. That was our water, our farms, our lives. How do we survive now?”

Another added:

“They said we would be compensated, but we don’t even know how much or when. We’ve been left out of those discussions. They don’t include us.”

The group also raised concerns about rumours that the government might tax any compensation they receive. “That’s not right. We buy our own fertiliser. The government didn’t help us with farming. Why would they take from us now, after all this damage?”

These testimonies were not just about environmental harm — they were about everyday survival. People have lost food, income, and health. Most importantly, they feel ignored. What came through clearly from Chingola, Ndola, and Kalulushi was that the pollution has caused long-term damage, and the responses so far — both from the companies and the government — are not enough. The people want to be included in decisions, given fair compensation, and have their rivers and lands restored.

Key Questions Answered:

• Where are the impacted people now? Most remain in their communities, without access to safe water or farmland. They have not been relocated.
  
• Was the water tested? Yes, some testing has been initiated by David Zambia Environmental Consulting, but community concerns remain that testing is inadequate and delayed.
  
• What about medical help? Limited treatment has been provided. No centralized medical records or health surveillance systems are in place for those exposed.
  
• Are people still fishing or using river water? Despite warnings, some are forced to fish or use the river for survival. Authorities have threatened arrests for fishing in polluted waters.
  
• Has compensation been given? Small payouts and food parcels were reported, but the process lacks transparency. Most communities feel excluded from negotiations.
  
• Are children, schools, and biodiversity considered? School closures due to water shortages have occurred. The ecological impact on indigenous fish species, crops, and forests is profound, with no clear recovery plan.
  
• Legal and policy questions raised: What is the state’s role in environmental cleanup? Who pays for ecosystem restoration? What about international legal tools (e.g., CBD, FAO Treaty on Seeds)?
  

WAY FORWARD: RWA Zambia & People’s Dialogue Response Plan

Anchored in the Voices of the Affected – Following the Kafue–Mwambashi River Pollution Crisis

“This pollution is not just about water. It is about our lives. About our gardens, our children, our dignity.” – Rosemary Chimba, Chingola

1. Community Documentation and Testimony Gathering

“We saw everything die. The fish. The vegetables. The trees. And no one came to ask how we are surviving.” – Chabanyama River resident

• Conduct systematic community-level documentation of stories, testimonies, and visual evidence (photos, videos) of environmental damage and human impact  from all affected districts (Chingola, Kalulushi, Chambishi, Ndola).
  
• Develop a digital and physical “People’s Dossier on Water Justice” highlighting lived experiences, biodiversity loss, and health impacts.
  
• Use this dossier to support legal claims, advocacy materials, and regional solidarity mobilisation.
  

2. Community-Led Demands & Compensation Committees

“How can a bag of mealie-meal and K1,000 replace the land that fed us, or the water that kept us alive?” – Woman farmer, Kalulushi

• Mobilise affected women and communities to draft and validate their own list of demands. Ensure demands come from the people, not decided behind closed doors.
  
• Push for full disclosure of compensation agreements and rejection of token payments. Demand inclusion of affected community members in all remediation and legal processes.

“We were never called to the table. We hear things on the radio. Yet it is our children who are sick.” – Kennedy, Chingola farmer

3. Legal Action & National Policy Pressure

“We must take them to court. But also we need lawyers who can explain things to us. We don’t understand how the law works.” – Elder, affected community

• Obtain a legal opinion on:
  
  • Corporate and state liability under Zambian law.
    
  • Environmental and human rights violations.
    
  • International obligations under the CBD, FAO Seed Treaty, and SADC protocols.
    
• Push for:
  
  • Public health assessments.
    
  • Community representation in litigation processes.
    
  • Amendment of the PPA (Pollution Prevention Act) to include stronger penalties.
• Work with environmental and human rights lawyers to support community-led litigation, mediation, or parliamentary petitions.
  
• Monitor and follow up the ZEMA-led court case and push for transparent, public updates.

4. People’s Environmental Tribunal

“We need something big. Like a tribunal. So the world can hear what these companies are doing to us.” – Helen Mwale, Zambia Human Rights Defenders Network

• Collaborate with People’s Dialogue  to organise a People’s Tribunal on Extractivism & Water Justice.
  
• Present testimonies from affected women, farmers, and youth before a panel of legal and ecological experts.
  
• Use tribunal findings to demand international accountability and reparations.
  Launch a campaign to name and shame polluters, starting with Sino Metals Leach Zambia and Rongxin Mining.
  
• Use social media, community radio, and local press to publish:
  
  • Polluter profiles
    
  • Timeline of spills
    
  • Health/environmental costs

5. Emergency Relief and Health Monitoring

“People are sick. We saw rashes. We saw children vomiting. And no one is counting the sick.” – Kalulushi Woman

• Demand government:
  
  • Set up mobile clinics in affected zones.
    
  • Conduct toxicology screenings and health assessments (especially for children, pregnant women, elderly).
    

7. Soil & Water Rehabilitation

“The water is still black. The soil is still dead. And they want to say it’s over?” – Community leader, Kalulushi

• Call for:
  
  • Independent environmental audits (involving university researchers and international bodies).
    
  • Bioremediation pilot projects to begin soil and river restoration.
    
• Advocate for biodiversity recovery, especially lost indigenous seed and fish species.
  

8. Movement-Building, Advocacy & Visibility

“We need to tell this story from the grassroots – at home and globally. We must never let this be forgotten.” – Mariam Mayet, African Centre for Biodiversity

• Develop an RWA Advocacy Strategy linking this case to:
  
  • Water justice.
    
  • Feminist ecological economy.
    
  • Corporate accountability.
    
• Collaborate with:
  
  • La Via Campesina.
    
  • Environmental justice networks.
    
  • SADC women’s coalitions.
    

9. Next Steps (Immediate Priorities)

1. Publish the statement, testimonies, and demands in a public campaign.
   
2. Organise a legal and movement strategy roundtable in June 2025.
   
3. Establish a documentation task team with RWA, People’s Dialogue, and CSO allies.
   
4. Begin groundwork for a People’s Tribunal (Q3 2025).
   
5. Engage ZEMA, Ministries, and Parliament with formal community reports and demands.
   
6. Share findings with relevant ministries (Water, Mines, Health, Justice) and Parliament.
   
7. Organise a joint RWA–People’s Dialogue strategy session in June 2025 to refine the advocacy roadmap.

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Final Word from the Ground:

“We are not just victims. We are survivors. We will fight to restore our land, our rivers, and our dignity.”
— Kalulushi women’s group

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As RWA Zambia and partners rally around rural women, this moment marks not just a crisis but a call to action—where environmental justice, gender justice, and human rights must converge. The meeting closed with calls for solidarity, sustained mobilisation, and urgent action. The consensus was clear: water is life, and the people will not remain silent.