Zambian lead poisoning Claimants win permission to appeal class action against Anglo American

Zambian lead poisoning Claimants win permission to appeal class action against Anglo American.

On Friday the Johannesburg High court granted permission to appeal an earlier ruling denying class action certification for 140,000 women and children in Kabwe, Zambia.

On Friday 19 April 2024, in a crucial step towards achieving justice for the children and women who allege lead poisoning caused by a former Anglo American lead mining operation in Kabwe, Zambia, the Johannesburg High Court granted permission to appeal an earlier judgment that dismissed certification of the class action. The Kabwe Claimants will now take their case before the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa later this year. This is a major step forward in the longstanding lead poisoning class action claim.

Kabwe was an Anglo American mine from 1925 to 1974. From the early 1970s, reports by the Mine doctors showed that several children had died of lead poisoning from the mine, and a high proportion of children in the local communities were suffering from massive blood lead levels. Experts for the Claimants also contend that the stability of lead in the environment was well known by the 1960s, and that the risk of lead poisoning to future generations should have been foreseen by Anglo American if the environment was not cleaned up. The Claimants allege that on economic grounds, Anglo American failed to heed advice from international experts in 1970 that the topsoil should be replaced.

In response to the ruling, Chitra Karve, Chair of ACTSA said: “ACTSA stands alongside the claimants in their call for justice. We hope that the appeal will force Anglo American to take responsibility for their actions; to protect the environment and citizens of Kabwe now and in the future. We hope it will compel Anglo American to truly uphold the standards of human rights they claim to adhere to.”

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