Kabwe

Headquarters of Zambia Railways 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 ==

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. 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. 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. 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. {{Weather box | 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 | source 1 = NOAA (humidity, sun 1961–1990) == Institutions and attractions ==

• Mulungushi Rock of Authority, north of the city • Mulungushi University • Kabwe Warriors football club • Zambia National Service Training School • Chindwin Barracks and Kohima Barracks (Zambian Defence Force) • Mulungushi Boat Club, Mulungushi Dam • Kwame Nkrumah University, a public institution of higher education • Paglory University • Ellensmere High School == Notable people ==

• Wilbur Smith, novelist • Michael Norgrove, boxer • Tutwa Ngulube, politician • Tommy Tiernan, comedian - lived here == References ==