This is the neighborhood most affected by the ongoing environmental and health catastrophe in Lubumbashi, in eastern DRC. In Kasapa, a leak from a water retention basin containing acid has caused significant damage, raising fears of major repercussions on the ecosystem, as well as on the health of the surrounding population.
In addition to the flooding of a market and several homes, some fear that the incident will also cause soil pollution. This is particularly true for Ghislain Kalwa, head of the Haut-Katanga Civil Society, who deplores the “panic” caused by the reservoir’s collapse, as well as “the illnesses and pollution that could follow, with all the potential consequences.”
The Minister of Mines in Lubumbashi
According to residents of the Kasapa neighborhood and members of civil society, the reservoir that collapsed belongs to the Chinese mining company Congo Dongfang Mining (CDM).
Arriving urgently in Lubumbashi, where he held a crisis meeting and noted regulatory breaches, the Minister of Mines immediately announced an initial measure: the suspension of the mining group’s activities in the area, with the obligation to pay wages. But for civil society, which has been denouncing CDM’s dangerous practices for years, this decision is far from sufficient. Consequently, they are demanding that the victims be compensated and that exemplary sanctions be imposed on those responsible for the disaster.
