Toxic Injustice: “They Forced Us Out and Fenced the Land” — Inside the Luela Stream Disaster

By Linda Soko Tembo

In March this year, authorities found Rongxing, a Chinese-owned mining company, guilty of failing to prevent an acid leak into the Luela stream — a tributary of the Kafue River, one of Zambia’s major water sources. The leak, which followed a tailings dam failure, affected more than 200 farmers. Yet for the families who depend on the stream, the government’s action brought little comfort.

Before the pollution disaster, the Luela farming block in Kalulushi District was a vibrant agricultural zone, sustaining households through vegetable and crop production. The area sits in the same district where another Chinese-owned company, Sino Metals, caused a separate environmental disaster, raising concerns about a pattern of regulatory failures on the Copperbelt.

Farmers say the land that fed them for generations is slowly dying, poisoned by pollution from Rongxing’s processing plant in Sabina along Mufulira Road.

Today, stunted crops, barren fields, and rising health fears tell the story of a community pushed to the brink — yet meaningful action to stop the contamination remains absent.

A farming community in decline

A MakanDay investigation found that since Rongxing began operations in 2017, more than 50 farmers lost their land to the company without adequate compensation. Farmers who retained some land say their fields were later contaminated by acidic waste, leaving the soil infertile.

They say land that once produced maize, carrots and sugarcane now resembles a wasteland. Although lime was later applied to neutralise the pollution, farmers report that it has made little difference.

“Farming is our life, but now the land is slowly dying, and the same polluted water is what traders use to wash the carrots, cabbage, rape, tomatoes, and other crops they buy from us,” said one farmer, who requested anonymity.

Another insider familiar with environmental operations in the area said the company had been polluting the Luela stream for years.

According to the source, pollution incidents, whether in water, dust, or air — are often dismissed as falling within “acceptable limits”.

Residents now question whether water quality in the stream is independently monitored, and whether any oversight exists beyond paperwork

A project that grew beyond its promises

The source further revealed that Rongxing initially acquired a small plot of about five acres, roughly the size of three football pitches, from a local couple. He alleges that during the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the company assured the community it would not expand nor pollute the stream or surrounding environment.

However, the company has since expanded aggressively, with minimal regulatory restraint.

“From a layman’s perspective, the location is questionable. The distance between the rail line and the stream is too narrow for industrial activity,” the source said.

Initially registered as a small-scale operation, Rongxing reportedly obtained multiple Environmental Project Briefs (EPBs), allowing it to enlarge its operations beyond its original approval.

Farmers allege that since 2020, the company has offered compensation each time the stream is polluted, a cycle they describe as inadequate, inconsistent and unethical.

A ZEMA media statement dated 16 October 2020 shows that the ridge of the tailings dam at the Rongxin Investments plant collapsed on 15 October, resulting in an abnormal discharge of slurry effluent into the Luela Stream.

Preliminary investigations by ZEMA inspectors confirmed that large volumes of tailings had entered the waterway. As an immediate enforcement action, the agency ordered the company to suspend operations, undertake clean-up and restoration works along the affected stretch of the stream, and submit a detailed remediation plan.

“They forced us out and fenced the land”

One of the affected farmers, Febby Chewe, said that after acid destroyed her field, the company took over the land entirely.

“We used the stream to irrigate our gardens. After the pollution incident, they forced us out and fenced the land. They only gave me K3,000 while other farmers were given 2000,7000, 1000 among others. I used to make K3000 every week from farming,” she said.

Chewe added that even aquatic life has vanished from the stream.

Another farmer, Ian Kapongolo, a father of nine, expressed similar disappointment.

“Farming is my life. That is how I raised my family. After our fields were destroyed, they gave me K3,000. Even people in offices respected the income we used to make. But now we are suffering,” he said.

Farmers say they expected higher compensation after Copperbelt Minister Elisha Matambo announced that payouts would range from K100,000 and above, depending on the size of land affected.

Kapongolo questioned how such low figures were approved, asking: “Can the government honestly approve that people be given just such kind of compensations?”

Government response and ongoing negotiations

Kalulushi District Commissioner Joseph Phiri attributed the variations in compensation amounts to differences in land size.

“Compensation depended on the hectares each person was cultivating. Government officers conducted ground assessments and the company paid according to the committee’s report,” he said.

Phiri added that, in his view, the matter has been resolved.

However, Malisa and Partners Legal Practitioners, who represent some of the 118 affected residents — say there is no court case yet because discussions with both the company and the government are still ongoing.

Lawyer Mehluli Malisa Batakathi said many affected individuals feel excluded from the compensation process.

 “Most of the time, compensation packages are imposed on them. They are simply given money and asked to sign,” he said.

The company’s defence

A source within Rongxing said the company followed all required environmental procedures before beginning operations in 2017. He confirmed that heavy rains in December last year caused an overflow from one of the dams, resulting in waste entering the stream.

“ZEMA inspected the site and advised us on remedial measures. We immediately applied lime and cleaned up the spill,” he said.

The source also claimed that members of the community had been stealing materials from the dam infrastructure, which weakened the structure and contributed to the overflow. He added that misinformation circulating in the area had further fuelled tensions between the company and residents.

“In March, the Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, Hon. Collins Nzovu, visited the site as part of his inspections following the Sino Metals incident. He had previously visited our company and given recommendations. During his visit, he inspected the dams, including the section where the breach had occurred, and observed traces of the earlier spill,” the source said.

According to the source, the Ministry of Agriculture and other government departments assessed the affected fields and presented a compensation bill of over K2 million, which the company paid.

Rongxing Mineral Processing Plant representative Destiny Xiao declined to comment further, saying only that the company had complied with the government’s directive to compensate affected farmers. She also warned the reporter that legal action would be taken if what she described as “correct information” was not published.

A community still waiting for justice

Despite the company insisting it has met its obligations, farmers say their land remains poisoned, their income wiped out, and the Luela stream, once the lifeline of the community, now flows with uncertainty.

For many families, the spill did not just destroy crops; it destroyed their future. And while authorities insist the matter is resolved, residents say the soil tells a different story.