Challenging large-scale agricultural and extractive land use that results in customary land dispossession without adequate consent, consultation and compensation, and increases poverty, environmental degradation and social inequality.
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Ongoing Cases
Zambia: Corporate accountability for pollution of vital water resources and the environment
Peter Shula & 165 Others v Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited & NFC Africa Mining Limited On 12 September 2025, 176 residents of Kalusale, Chambishi, Kalulushi District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia…
Botswana: Indigenous San and Bayei communities fight to protect ancestral land and indigenous rights
Tawana Land Board v Botswana Khwedom Council & 10 Others The Southern Africa Litigation Centre is working with the Botswana Khwedom Council to support the San and Bayei communities in…
South Africa / Zambia: Amicus in class action on lead poisoning
On 9 May 2022, Amnesty International and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) have applied to intervene in an unprecedented class action lawsuit. The case was brought by a group…
Zambia: Illegal dam construction on Munte River: Chisenga Beriat & 8 Others v Serenje Properties Limited
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) is supporting a community that relies on the Munte River in Serenje, Zambia, in challenging the violation of their rights arising from the construction…
Completed Cases
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre is working with the Botswana Khwedom Council to support Kgosi Rebeccah Banika, a female Chief, who challenged the decision of the Chobe Land Board to…
SALC is assisting the Ba-Ga-Malete Tribe, represented by Kgosi Mosadi Seboko and the Gamalete Development Trust, against the Malete Land Board and the Attorney General to retain the land known…
Factual Background The applicant was refused enrolment at a school on the basis that he had dreadlocks. Over the years, there have been a number of reports of schools refusing…
SALC is working with Youth Watch Society (YOWSO) in Malawi on a case seeking the review of a Magistrates Court decision to fine parents of students who were pregnant and…
Articles
The loud silence on tailings dams, communities pay the price
By Anna Mmolai-Chalmers This article is for communities whose land and habitat are hubs of mining activity, particularly Orapa, Jwaneng, Selibe Phikwe, and Lethakane, and focuses on an issue that…
Mining requires accountability
The Nation 12 June 2026 As global demand for minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies continues to grow, Malawi is increasingly attracting attention from…
Resources
Mining company takes Zambia pollution case to Supreme Court in bid to avoid trial
MINING COMPANY TAKES ZAMBIA POLLUTION CASE TO SUPREME COURT IN BID TO AVOID TRIAL Sino Metals appeals High Court ruling that cleared the way for 176 community members to have…
Jurisdiction, justice, and the journey home: The San and Bayei people’s struggle to reclaim Chief’s Island (Khuti ya ga Mathiba), their indigenous and ancestral land
Botswana Guardian Weekend Post Xtra TheMidweek Sun 30 July Madelyn Evans To an outsider’s eye, the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana’s Northwest District appears as a lush reserve, teeming with…
