Kabwe

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title: "Kabwe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kabwe", "populated-places-in-central-province,-zambia", "provincial-capitals-in-zambia", "mining-communities-in-africa", "mining-in-zambia", "1902-establishments-in-the-british-empire"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabwe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
official_name
native_name
settlement_typeTown
motto
image_skylineDowntown Kabwe Zambia.jpg
image_captionDowntown Kabwe, looking down Freedom Way, with the Big Tree National Monument in the distance
pushpin_mapZambia
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Zambia
subdivision_type
subdivision_nameZambia
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Central Province
subdivision_type2District
subdivision_name2Kabwe District
subdivision_name4
leader_title1
leader_name1Prince Mumba
established_title
established_title2
established_title3
established_date3
area_total_km2
area_land_km2
area_blank1_sq_mi
population_as_of2022 census
population_total288,598
population_blank1_titleEthnicities
population_blank2_titleReligions
population_density_blank1_sq_mi
timezoneCAT
utc_offset+2
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m1182
elevation_ft3879
postal_code_type
blank_nameClimate
blank_infoCwa
::

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Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 288,598 at the 2022 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also has a claim to being the birthplace of Zambian politics as it was an important political centre during the colonial period.

Kabwe is an important transportation, farming and university centre. Kabwe is becoming a major agricultural hub for the country is the headquarters for Zambia Railways and prison services. Additionally the mining industry has been important to the economic development of the region. However, because of the exceptional contamination of the city with lead and other toxins, and the effects of these on local children's health, a March 2022 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment identified the town as a sacrifice zone for industry.

History

Headquarters of Zambia Railways

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Rhodesian_Railways_under_construction_near_Broken_Hill_Zambia.png" caption="Part of the railway near Kabwe under construction (ca. 1906)"] ::

The first railway in the country, operated by Rhodesian Railways when the territory was administered as North-Western Rhodesia the rail line reached Broken Hill mine as early as 1906, and the town became the northern base for the railway, which was the second biggest employer after the mining industry. A locomotive maintenance facility was constructed there. In 1909 the railway reached Ndola in the Lambaland which was to become the Copperbelt.

The railway workers' unions played a large role in the politics of the country. In racially segregated colonial times before Africans had the vote, the town was the seat of Roy Welensky, leader of the powerful Rhodesia Railway Workers Union (RRWU), who became prime minister of the ill-fated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which was opposed by the Northern Rhodesia Railway trade union (the black Africans' union) led by Dixon Konkola and also based in Kabwe.

Today, the town is the headquarters of Zambia Railways but employment levels on the railway have been heavily cut.

Independence protest

Reflecting Kabwe's central location and railway union base, it was chosen as the site for a rally held on October 26, 1958, at Mulungushi Rock north of the city by the Kaunda-Kapwepwe breakaway group from the Zambian African National Congress. Later, they founded the political party UNIP which led the successful independence movement and continued to hold conferences at Mulungushi Rock, which became known as the 'birthplace of independence' in Zambia.

Demographics

::data[format=table]

CensusPopulation
1990154,318
2000176,758
2010202,360
2022288,598
::

Districts

Makululu

A large informal settlement on the outskirts of the city, Makululu is an important district in the town. The settlement is on the edge of the Lukanga Swamp, and is thus vulnerable to flooding. Similarly, the water is highly contaminated from both poor sanitation and the broader industrial pollution from the mine.

Environmental issues

Mine pollution

A study by the Blacksmith Institute found Kabwe to be one of the ten most polluted places in the world due mostly to heavy metal (mostly zinc and lead) tailings making their way into the local water supply. A 2014 report indicates that children's blood lead levels continue to be elevated even though mining has stopped. A 2020 study, found high levels of lead and cadmium in blood levels. A March 2022 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment identified the town as a sacrifice zone for industry.

Other studies, have found high potential for copper, cobalt and other non-lead materials in leachate from the mine.

A class action lawsuit was launched against Anglo American plc, alleging that it ignored the required safety standards despite knowing about the harms caused. Anglo-American was the majority owner of the mine from 1925 until its 1974 nationalization by the Zambian government. A certification hearing was held at the High Court of South Africa's Johannesburg branch in February 2023.

Transportation

Kabwe is on the T2 road (Great North Road) to Kapiri Mposhi in the north (with a branch route to Ndola) and Lusaka in the south. It is also on the Zambia Railways line.

Accidents and incidents

On February 7, 2013, a bus collided with two cars south of Kabwe, killing 53 people.

Industries and agriculture

Historically the economy of Kabwe has been dominated by the mine. Other industries include pharmaceuticals, milling and cotton ginning, and Kabwe's first Drinking Water Plant (Aquador Purifed Water) and leather tanning.Zamnet Online News: "Kabwe: From discovery to recovery" (Zambia Daily Mail), website accessed 7 March 2007.

To the east of the city are the hydro-electric power stations of the Mulungushi Dam, Mita Hills Dam and Lunsemfwa Falls, built to power the mine and town.

Commercial farming areas surround the city about 10 km from the centre, and the road and rail links provide ready access to the markets of the Copperbelt and Lusaka.

Mine

The name Kabwe or Kabwe-Ka Mukuba means 'ore' or 'smelting' but the European/Australian prospectors named it Broken Hill after a similar mine in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. The mine was the largest in the country for around thirty years until it was overtaken in the early 1930s by larger copper mining complexes on the Copperbelt. Apart from lead and zinc it also produced silver, manganese and heavy metals such as cadmium, vanadium, and titanium in smaller quantities.

In 1921 a human fossil, a skull, dubbed Kabwe 1, also "Broken Hill Man" or "Rhodesian Man" (classified as Homo rhodesiensis or Homo heidelbergensis) was found in the mine.

Anglo American plc became the majority owner of the mine in 1925, until the mine was nationalized in 1974 by the Zambian government, who closed it in 1994.

The mine, which occupies a 2.5 km2 site 1 km south-west of the town centre, is closed but metals are still extracted from old tailings.

Closure of the mine led to economic decline for Kabwe. It has a number of manufacturing industries including the Zambia-China Mulungushi textiles plant established with Chinese investment in the 1980s, but after suffering large losses this plant closed (temporarily according to management) at the beginning of 2007.

Climate

Kabwe has a subtropical highland climate (Cwa) with warm, wet summers, mild dry winters and hot springs.

| width = auto | collapsed = | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Kabwe (1991–2020, extremes 1961–2020) | Jan record high C = 35.2 | Feb record high C = 33.7 | Mar record high C = 37.5 | Apr record high C = 33.0 | May record high C = 32.3 | Jun record high C = 32.6 | Jul record high C = 30.8 | Aug record high C = 35.2 | Sep record high C = 37.2 | Oct record high C = 38.6 | Nov record high C = 38.5 | Dec record high C = 36.5 | year record high C = | Jan high C = 27.9 | Feb high C = 27.9 | Mar high C = 28.0 | Apr high C = 27.5 | May high C = 26.4 | Jun high C = 24.6 | Jul high C = 24.1 | Aug high C = 27.1 | Sep high C = 30.7 | Oct high C = 32.4 | Nov high C = 31.1 | Dec high C = 28.4 | year high C = 28.0 | Jan mean C = 23.0 | Feb mean C = 22.9 | Mar mean C = 22.6 | Apr mean C = 21.2 | May mean C = 19.4 | Jun mean C = 17.2 | Jul mean C = 16.9 | Aug mean C = 19.6 | Sep mean C = 23.1 | Oct mean C = 25.3 | Nov mean C = 25.0 | Dec mean C = 23.4 | year mean C = 21.6 | Jan low C = 18.1 | Feb low C = 17.9 | Mar low C = 17.1 | Apr low C = 14.9 | May low C = 12.3 | Jun low C = 9.7 | Jul low C = 9.6 | Aug low C = 12.1 | Sep low C = 15.5 | Oct low C = 18.1 | Nov low C = 18.8 | Dec low C = 18.3 | year low C = 15.2 | Jan record low C = 10.1 | Feb record low C = 10.4 | Mar record low C = 9.0 | Apr record low C = 8.2 | May record low C = 5.9 | Jun record low C = 1.1 | Jul record low C = 3.4 | Aug record low C = 3.6 | Sep record low C = 4.4 | Oct record low C = 8.9 | Nov record low C = 11.0 | Dec record low C = 9.4 | year record low C = | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 210.6 | Feb precipitation mm = 185.8 | Mar precipitation mm = 110.1 | Apr precipitation mm = 21.1 | May precipitation mm = 2.9 | Jun precipitation mm = 0.0 | Jul precipitation mm = 1.1 | Aug precipitation mm = 0.0 | Sep precipitation mm = 1.2 | Oct precipitation mm = 6.6 | Nov precipitation mm = 102.1 | Dec precipitation mm = 218.6 | year precipitation mm = 860.2 |Jan humidity = 81.3 |Feb humidity = 81.3 |Mar humidity = 78.6 |Apr humidity = 72.6 |May humidity = 64.8 |Jun humidity = 60.2 |Jul humidity = 56.4 |Aug humidity = 48.1 |Sep humidity = 40.7 |Oct humidity = 44.0 |Nov humidity = 60.9 |Dec humidity = 78.0 |year humidity = 63.9 |Jan sun = 179.8 |Feb sun = 165.2 |Mar sun = 220.1 |Apr sun = 258.0 |May sun = 282.1 |Jun sun = 279.0 |Jul sun = 300.7 |Aug sun = 316.2 |Sep sun = 297.0 |Oct sun = 285.2 |Nov sun = 222.0 |Dec sun = 173.6 |year sun = 2978.9 | source 1 = NOAA (humidity, sun 1961–1990){{cite web |url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Zambia/CSV/Kabwe01_67663.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Kabwe |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 23, 2024}}{{cite web | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/ZA/67663.TXT | title = Kabwe MET Climate Normals 1961–1990 | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200603005803/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/ZA/67663.TXT | archive-date = 2020-06-03 | url-status = dead | access-date = January 22, 2014}}

Institutions and attractions

Notable people

|title=Images of Kabwe |width=160 | height=170 |align=center |File:Big Tree Natl Mont Kabwe.JPG |The Big Tree National Monument, a large fig tree (Ficus sycomorus) historically used as a meeting place and now converted into a park (1974) |File:Great North Road in Kabwe Zambia.jpg |The Great North Road (T2) in Kabwe, just east of its intersection with Buntungwa Street |File:Buntungwa Street Kabwe Zambia.jpg |Buntungwa Street, Kabwe, near intersection with the Great North Road (T2) |File:Mulungushi University Town Campus.jpg |Classroom building at the Kabwe Town Campus of Mulungushi University |File:Aerial view of the Mulungushi Rock of Authority.jpg |Aerial view of the Mulungushi Rock of Authority, birthplace of the Zambian independence movement |File:Azurite-Malachite-149367.jpg |Azurite with green Malachite from the Kabwe Mine

References

References

  2. "Zambia: Provinces, Major Cities & Urban Centers - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information".
  3. Kachingwe, Kelvin. "Kabwe: the nucleus of national politics". [[Times of Zambia]].
  4. "Kabwe {{!}} Zambia".
  5. Boyd, David R. (2022). "Sacrifice zones 50 of the Most Polluted Places on Earth". Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.
  6. Phir, Adrian. (2015-08-25). "Tackling urban flooding in a 'shanty' settlement Action at the Frontline, Kabwe, Zambia".
  7. [http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/ten.php The Blacksmith Institute website] {{Webarchive. link. (2006-10-26 accessed 1 March 2007.)
  8. J. Yabe et al., "[[Lead poisoning]] in children from townships in the vicinity of a lead–zinc mine in Kabwe, Zambia", ''Chemosphere'' 119 (January 2015), 941–947, {{doi. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.09.028.
  9. University, Hokkaido. "The lasting effects of pollution from the Kabwe mine".
  10. (2010-12-01). "Geochemistry, mineralogy and environmental impact of precipitated efflorescent salts at the Kabwe Cu–Co chemical leaching plant in Zambia". Applied Geochemistry.
  11. Gbadamosi, Nosmot. (8 February 2023). "Zambia Takes Anglo American to Court". [[Foreign Policy]].
  12. "Roads and Road Traffic Act {{!}} National Assembly of Zambia".
  13. (7 February 2013). "Dozens killed in Zambia as bus crashes into truck". The Guardian.
  14. "53 dead in Zambia bus-truck crash". AFP.
  15. [[Bruce Kapferer]]: "Strategy and Transaction in an African Factory", Manchester: Manchester University Press 1972

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kabwepopulated-places-in-central-province,-zambiaprovincial-capitals-in-zambiamining-communities-in-africamining-in-zambia1902-establishments-in-the-british-empire