Zambian Activist Wins Goldman Prize for Holding Mining Giant Accountable
Chilekwa Mumba, a community organizer from Zambia, has been awarded the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa for his work in holding mining giant Vedanta Resources accountable for environmental damage caused by its subsidiary in the country, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
In 2006, KCM’s copper mine in Chingola, Zambia contaminated the local river with waste, causing health problems for villagers and killing fish.
The Zambian Supreme Court later found that KCM was in violation of its license and that the bursting of slurry pipes caused acidic effluent to discharge into tributaries of the Kafue River, which provides almost half of the country’s drinking water.
Despite attempts by residents to get compensation for damages caused to their environment, no compensation had been forthcoming in Zambia.
In 2015, Mumba launched a six-year legal battle in the UK that eventually led to Vedanta and KCM paying compensation to 2,500 Zambian villagers, although the companies admitted no liability.
This legal fight set a new precedent, allowing a British company to be sued for the actions of its subsidiary in another country. Mumba’s work has been recognized as a significant step towards holding corporations accountable for their actions, even when they occur in other countries.
Mumba faced numerous obstacles along the way, including being arrested by local police in 2017 for not having the required permission from authorities to address thousands of villagers from polluted communities.
He also had to convince claimants to provide blood samples for analysis of the health impacts of the pollution, overcoming concerns that their blood samples would be misused.
The road to compensation was lengthy, with a breakthrough coming in 2019 when a landmark ruling from the UK Supreme Court allowed the Zambians to sue Vedanta in the English courts, finding that Vedanta, as the parent company of KCM, owed the villagers a duty of care.
Mumba’s work has highlighted the environmental damage caused by mining in Zambia, a country that relies heavily on copper mining, which generates more than half of its revenue from exports.
The Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded each year by The Goldman Environmental Foundation, with ceremonies in San Francisco and Washington, DC. Mumba is one of six global winners of the prestigious award, which honors grassroots environmental activists.
