CDM pollution in Lubumbashi: one year later, NGOs demand Louis Watum Kabamba’s questioning over lenient handling of the disaster

One year after more than 2.5 million cubic metres of leachate spilled into Lubumbashi’s Kasapa, Kamatete and Kamisepe neighborhoods, residents and five NGOs are demanding justice and compensation. In a joint statement, Meda Mapendo, Horizon Kasapa, VADDIPER, AJD and IRDH accuse Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM) of failing to carry out measures ordered after an interministerial investigation. They say the six million dollars in collective compensation and a commitment to provide medical care for at least five years have yet to be delivered. The groups also call for long-term health monitoring, fifteen drinking-water wells, and work on nearby water pipes and the road linking CDM to Kasapa.