As mining giant Anglo American held its AGM in London on 29th April 2026, coordinated protests took place in London and Zambia about its legacy in Kabwe, one of the world’s most polluted towns, while shareholder activists questioned them during the meeting.
Over 50 people in Kabwe, led by local organisation Environment Africa, gathered to call for Stop Anglo’s toxic legacy’ and ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’, in a march past that engaged the local mayor and the Town clek’s representative.
In London, outside the company’s AGM, people gathered to call for ‘Justice for Kabwe’ and ‘Anglo American, do the right thing’.
During the AGM, Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) as a proxy shareholder challenged the company about Kabwe and once again received the standard reply that Anglo American is not responsible ‘either morally or legally’.
Photos of both protests are available and free to use here.
The company is facing a historic class-action lawsuit on behalf of 140,000 women and children in Kabwe, Zambia, who allege that they have been poisoned by lead left behind by the Kabwe Mine, formerly known as the Broken Hill Mine, which was within the Anglo American Group for almost 50 years.
The level of lead in the soil in Kabwe reaches over 300 times than the level deemed to be a hazard to humans by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). 95% of children in Kabwe are estimated to have elevated blood lead levels. There is no safe level of lead in the blood and even low exposure can lead to significant health and cognitive impacts.
Anglo American has refused to engage with calls over decades for it to help clean-up the area, with Kabwe residents saying they have been met with a ‘wall of silence’. This goes against its current Human Rights policy which commits it to contribute to remediation when its business has contributed to adverse human rights impacts.
Chitra Karve, chair of Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA): “Anglo American’s line that it is ‘not morally or legally responsible’ for the lead pollution in Kabwe, despite the mountains of evidence proving otherwise, speaks volume as to its sense of responsibility towards the communities it works within. Whatever happens with the class-action the Justice for Kabwe campaign will continue.”
Namo Chuma, Director of Environment Africa, said: “Kabwe, in Zambia, known as the world’s most polluted town, speaks today to how people are still suffering from widespread pollution over 50 years after Anglo American stopped operating in the country.”
More on our Kabwe campaign here.