In Congo’s Cobalt Belt, a Chinese Miner’s Waste Leaves Villages Poisoned and Furious

Hélène Mvubu (R) carries her daughter as she walks across a polluted field in the Kamitete district of Lubumbashi on November 24, 2025. Photo by GLODY MURHABAZI / AFP

By Camille Lafont

Carrying her sore-pocked daughter across her decaying field, Helene Mvubu says she is one of thousands to have fallen victim to the toxic waste defiling the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining capital.

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