Driven from their island, Zambian fishermen pay price of Chinese expansion
Hundreds of fishermen say they were violently driven from an island in southern Zambia and have been unable to return to their fishing grounds for more than three years, after a Chinese-owned fishing company expanded its operations in the area. They say they lost their homes and livelihoods, have never received compensation and are still seeking justice. An RFI investigation has traced what happened to the community and the Chinese company's growing presence on Lake Kariba.
Issued on: 06/09/2026 - RFI
\
Cover image: Jeremiah Island lies off the shores of Lake Kariba in southern Zambia, near the border with Zimbabwe. © RFI
02:21
02:21
By: Zeenat Hansrod with RFI
On the night of 11 February 2023, residents of Jeremiah Island on Lake Kariba were forced from their homes by Zambian police and soldiers. Their properties were burnt down.
Mike Moonga, 45, had lived on the island since 2017 and clearly remembers the night his life was uprooted.
“I was in bed with my wife when, around three in the morning, we were woken up by the loud noise of gunshots,” Moonga said.
“We went out and saw police officers and soldiers shooting and chasing the people. They said we have to get out of the island. Then, they burned everything down, our houses, our fish stocks in fridges, our money, our shops, all that we owned. We got out of the island with nothing.”
Six months in jail
Moonga said he was beaten after asking the security forces why they were burning their properties. Four people were arrested and around 100 injured.
When he went to hospital the next day for treatment, he was told he first had to report the incident to the police.
“At the police station, when I told them I was beaten up by soldiers, they arrested me because they said I was obstructing the officers in their duty,” Moonga said. “They did not want to hear that we were asking the officers to stop burning our properties.”
He was jailed for six months.
“When I came out of prison, I weighed 32kg,” he said. “I used to be 85kg. Meanwhile, my children were starving.”
Chinese fishing company
Moonga said the 500 fishermen on Jeremiah Island were forced out to make way for Chinese-owned fishing company Zamfresh.
Established in Zambia since 2018, it is one of the largest fishing companies in southern Africa and owns more than 300 large fish cages around Jeremiah Island, on the Zambian side of Lake Kariba.
The tilapia produced there is sold in Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe and exported around the world.
Zamfresh is part of the SunShare group, which signed a $246 million deal with the Zambian government in May to invest in solar power.
The fishermen are prohibited from returning to Jeremiah Island. Moonga said government representatives met their chief before the eviction and told him the islanders had to leave because the island was needed.
“But they didn’t tell us that the Chinese people secretly bought that island because, in Zambia, islands belong to the people and are not for sale,” Moonga told RFI. “After we left, we saw new buildings on the island which are now guarded by the same soldiers who beat us.”
RFI asked the Siavonga District Council whether the Chinese company had been given rights to use Jeremiah Island, but received no response. The council also did not respond to questions about the February 2023 evictions.
“The government should have first secured the livelihood of the 500 fishermen,” Vladimir Chilinya, country director for FIAN International Zambia, said.
“Instead of being relocated in a dignified manner, they have been chased away from their land and going through a lot of suffering.”
Infant death
Elita, the wife of a Jeremiah Island fisherman, was the mother of an infant who died after the eviction.
“My daughter was two months old the night the army chased us away,” she said. “The commotion, the gunshots terrified her. She suffocated after inhaling the tear gas the soldiers threw at us. She died soon after.”
No investigation was carried out into the infant's death, so a direct link with the violence could not be formally established.
Elita said she was arrested when she went to the police station to report what had happened.
“I hope justice will be done but we have no means of obtaining it,” Elita told RFI.
The remains of a house burnt down by Zambian security forces during the eviction of fishermen from Jeremiah Island on 11 February 2023. © RFI
Journalists in Zambia who asked to remain anonymous told RFI that the government had threatened to cancel their media outlets' licences if they reported on Jeremiah Island.
Zamfresh did not respond to RFI's request for comment.
Fishing restrictions
In May 2023, three months after the eviction, two fishermen paddled by canoe towards the fish cages operated by Zamfresh.
“There was a lot of fish around there,” Kennedy Mwetwa told RFI. “But one of their patrol boats saw us, sped towards to us and hit our canoe.”
The canoe capsized and Mwetwa's friend, who could not swim, died.
“I couldn’t save Titus Sramannsa,” Mwetwa said. “I was worn out but managed to reach the shore.”
RFI said it was not aware of any investigation being opened into his death.
Moonga said the Fisheries Department told fishermen they were not allowed to fish within one kilometre of Zamfresh's fish cages.
“As far as I know, the law says it is 100 metres,” Moonga said. “But at 1,000 metres where am I going to go? I can’t fish there. If I’m caught within the perimeter, I will caught by the police and sent to prison.”
“There is no basis why the company has been given the preference of a one-kilometer zone where fishermen not allowed,” Chilinya said. “Water cannot be commercialised. Our laws recognise the customary water rights of all individuals.”
Moonga also said the Chinese company was using nets to collect fish surrounding the cages, a fishing method he said broke Zambian law.
“The Fisheries department came, caught them red-handed and said this case is going to court,” he said. “But three days later, the Chinese were back at it.”
“Whether it's in the Copper Belt mines, or here in the south of the country with aquaculture, we realise that the Zambian government tends to protect the Chinese,” Chilinya told RFI. “There is a pattern of eviction of local communities in preference for large-scale investment.”
Previous violations
Zamfresh has previously faced action by Zambian authorities. In 2021, government and health officials inspected its fish-farming operation and ordered it to close temporarily over breaches of public health and food safety laws.
Officials cited poor hygiene and waste management, overcrowded and poorly ventilated workers' accommodation, untreated sewage being discharged into the environment and a lack of protective clothing for employees. The company later resumed operations.
In March 2026, a video showing two Chinese Zamfresh employees mistreating a Zambian employee went viral on social media.
Zambia's Labour Ministry recommended that the two Chinese employees be expelled and fined Zamfresh's parent company, SunShare, 160,000 kwacha for failing to provide workers with employment contracts and payslips.
Moonga and the other fishermen now live on the shore opposite Jeremiah Island, in a deserted area not far from Butete village. High fuel costs make their situation even more difficult.
“My life is very much difficult to live,” Moonga said. “If I can’t fish, what am I going to do. I now eat only once a day. It’s hard to send my children to school. You need money to buy uniforms, books, shoes, transport. I can’t pay.”
Before the eviction, income from fishing allowed families to send their children to school, Moonga said.
Chilinya said the treatment of the Jeremiah Island residents broke both Zambian and international law.
“What happened to the people of Jeremiah Island is a betrayal from the state,” he said.
“Its duty is to its citizens, not put the interests of business first. It is wrong both according to our laws and in international law. We may actually engage the international community for help because there's been no response from the national mechanisms to assist the people of Jeremiah Island.”
This article is based on this version in French by RFI's Igor Strauss and Vesper Kove.
Journalists in Zambia who asked to remain anonymous told RFI that the government had threatened to cancel their media outlets' licences if they reported on Jeremiah Island.
Zamfresh did not respond to RFI's request for comment.
Fishing restrictions
In May 2023, three months after the eviction, two fishermen paddled by canoe towards the fish cages operated by Zamfresh.
“There was a lot of fish around there,” Kennedy Mwetwa told RFI. “But one of their patrol boats saw us, sped towards to us and hit our canoe.”
The canoe capsized and Mwetwa's friend, who could not swim, died.
“I couldn’t save Titus Sramannsa,” Mwetwa said. “I was worn out but managed to reach the shore.”
RFI said it was not aware of any investigation being opened into his death.
Moonga said the Fisheries Department told fishermen they were not allowed to fish within one kilometre of Zamfresh's fish cages.
“As far as I know, the law says it is 100 metres,” Moonga said. “But at 1,000 metres where am I going to go? I can’t fish there. If I’m caught within the perimeter, I will caught by the police and sent to prison.”
“There is no basis why the company has been given the preference of a one-kilometer zone where fishermen not allowed,” Chilinya said. “Water cannot be commercialised. Our laws recognise the customary water rights of all individuals.”
Moonga also said the Chinese company was using nets to collect fish surrounding the cages, a fishing method he said broke Zambian law.
“The Fisheries department came, caught them red-handed and said this case is going to court,” he said. “But three days later, the Chinese were back at it.”
“Whether it's in the Copper Belt mines, or here in the south of the country with aquaculture, we realise that the Zambian government tends to protect the Chinese,” Chilinya told RFI. “There is a pattern of eviction of local communities in preference for large-scale investment.”
Previous violations
Zamfresh has previously faced action by Zambian authorities. In 2021, government and health officials inspected its fish-farming operation and ordered it to close temporarily over breaches of public health and food safety laws.
Officials cited poor hygiene and waste management, overcrowded and poorly ventilated workers' accommodation, untreated sewage being discharged into the environment and a lack of protective clothing for employees. The company later resumed operations.
In March 2026, a video showing two Chinese Zamfresh employees mistreating a Zambian employee went viral on social media.
Zambia's Labour Ministry recommended that the two Chinese employees be expelled and fined Zamfresh's parent company, SunShare, 160,000 kwacha for failing to provide workers with employment contracts and payslips.
Moonga and the other fishermen now live on the shore opposite Jeremiah Island, in a deserted area not far from Butete village. High fuel costs make their situation even more difficult.
“My life is very much difficult to live,” Moonga said. “If I can’t fish, what am I going to do. I now eat only once a day. It’s hard to send my children to school. You need money to buy uniforms, books, shoes, transport. I can’t pay.”
Before the eviction, income from fishing allowed families to send their children to school, Moonga said.
Chilinya said the treatment of the Jeremiah Island residents broke both Zambian and international law.
“What happened to the people of Jeremiah Island is a betrayal from the state,” he said.
“Its duty is to its citizens, not put the interests of business first. It is wrong both according to our laws and in international law. We may actually engage the international community for help because there's been no response from the national mechanisms to assist the people of Jeremiah Island.”
This article is based on this version in French by RFI's Igor Strauss and Vesper Kove.
No comments:
Post a Comment