Mining company Anglo American is in the middle of a legal battle in Zambia as it faces allegations of affecting women and children with lead poisoning.
Anglo American is now accused of blocking or denying access to justice for thousands of Zambian women and children affected by lead poisoning at a mine it used to own.
It is reported that Anglo American is seeking to block an application to file a class action against the mining company, a United Nations Agency said as per News24.
The mining company, Anglo American, previously owned a stake in the Broken Hill Mine between 1925 and 1974, but it has denied responsibility for affecting women and children.
Anglo American, also operating in South Africa among other African countries, said it only held a shareholding in the operator, and mining continued after the company was nationalized by the Zambian government.
“It cannot both claim to be committed to respecting the rule of law and remediating the adverse impacts of its business activities, while at the same time actively resisting the certification of a class action,” the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights said in an application to join the case in the South African High Court as a “friend of the court”.
This denial by Anglo American would effectively deny the prospective class members any prospect of litigating their claims, it said, in court papers ahead of a hearing on Thursday.
Various media reports suggest the case was filed by 13 plaintiffs on behalf of an estimated 100,000 people who are demanding compensation and a clean-up of the area.
“Lead poisoning can cause health problems ranging from learning difficulties to infertility, brain damage, and, in some cases, death. In a 2019 report, Human Rights Watch said that a third of the population of Kabwe, or more than 76,000 people, live in lead-contaminated areas,” it is reported by News24.
Anglo is opposing the UN agency’s admission to the court case and has also responded, with the company saying it cannot be held liable for poisoning the community members.
“We just don’t believe that we are responsible for the current situation,” Anglo said in a response to queries.
“Our reputation as a responsible company is being held to ransom, and we, therefore, have little option but to defend ourselves against the allegations.”
BusinessTech Africa has now gathered that the lawsuit was filed in South Africa because at the time of the mine’s operation, Anglo was headquartered in Johannesburg but the mining company is now based in London, United Kingdom.
