EVIDENCE that Africa could be the cradle of mankind surfaced in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1921 following the discovery of Broken Hillman's early stone age skull during mining operations at Kabwe Mine.

That famous human fossil is housed at London's Museum of Natural History and the archive for Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) on Ndola's Arusha Street has a replica.

As Zambia co-hosts the forthcoming 20th General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) with Zimbabwe, the discovery of the fossil could form part of the tourism marketing package for Zambia.

The 20th UNWTO General Assembly will be co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Tourism treasures near Kabwe include the 500 metres deep Lunsenfwa Wonder Gorge and the almost 2,000 square- kilometres Lukanga Swamp, a habitat for several fish and bird species, crocodiles, hippos and other animals.

Broken hill man's skull

Kabwe came to international limelight when the skull of the Broken Hill man who lived more than 200,000 years ago was discovered by the Swiss miner Tom Zwigelaar on June 17, 1921.

The Kabwe cranium as the fossil is also called, provided evidence that Africa could be the cradle of mankind and proved biologist Charles Darwin's prediction that the so-called dark continent could be the origin of all human beings.

Another notable archeological site of international repute in Zambia is Ing'ombe Ilede, but its history covers an advanced stage of human development known as the Iron Age.

Some of the delegates to the UNWTO in Livingstone may wish to travel to Kabwe and see where that skull was discovered.

Although many people do not know it, there is a cenotaph in front of the Kabwe Civic Centre that was erected to symbolise the discovery of that archeological finding.

That cenotaph is within a short distance from Shoprite and Tuskers Hotel, which was previously known as Elephant's Head Hotel.

The Kabwe Civic Centre, where the cenotaph stands, was officially opened on July 10, 1957 by the Queen Mother who travelled from England for that ceremony before the then Broken Hill town changed its name to Kabwe in 1966.

Black-and-white photographs of the Queen Mother's visit to Kabwe, among them her ride in a Land Rover have been filed in an album at the Kabwe Town Centre Library near the Civic Centre which visitors could have a privilege to see.

Lunsemfwa Gorge and Lukanga

It is easy to develop safaris in Kabwe in the sense that the vast Lukanga Swamp and the Lunsemfwa Wonder Gorge are within the town's 100 kilometre radius.

Lukanga is about 50 kilometres west of Kabwe and home to several fish species including the eagle, the bird on the Zambian flag.

That vast permanent swamp is also home to crocodiles, hippos, lechwes, bush-buck and other animals, making it ideal for safari tours and camping.

The Lunsemfwa Wonder Gorge, which could rival the Batoka Gorge down-stream the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, in some places is 500 metres deep.

The gorge offers an opportunity to diversify the tourism from mining, long distance railways and the Mulungushi Textiles, capital intensive ventures that have not sustained jobs in Kabwe.

The best view of the gorge is at Bell Point at the confluence of the Mkushi and Lunsenfwa rivers.

Rocks present difficulties in agriculture near the location of the gorge and the author could see plantations of Jathropa, an oil seed crop resistant to droughts and that adapts to arid conditions due to its long root.

The Big Fig Tree

After visiting the Lukanga Swamp and Lunsemfwa Wonder Gorge, the author travelled back to Kabwe and lodged at Tuskers Hotel, which is a stone's throw from the Big Fig, a national monument.

The fig tree is close to the railway line on the same street where there is the monument which symbolises the discovery of the Broken Hill's was erected.

Its shade served as a resting place during colonial days for users of basic transporter forms such as donkeys, horses and caravans.

Even to this day, its canopy covering several meters in circumference offers shade to visitors and locals alike.

That fig tree also formed the back part of the Bank of Zambia's phased out K50,000.

A plaque that has been erected by the Central Bank at the site reads: "This unusually large and magnificent fig tree, situated in the centre of Kabwe, was the meeting place of the town's people during early years of the settlement here.

"For several years the shade of the tree was used for assembling of donkey carriers' caravans for journeys to the North and North-East at the time when Broken Hill (now Kabwe) was the rail head for most of the North-Western Rhodesia... .This tree today, can be also seen on the fifty(K50,000) Kwacha note."

Politics and important people

Kabwe is rich in political heritage, having been the place where first President Kenneth Kaunda was installed as president of Zambia African National Congress (ZANC) in Bwacha in March 1958.

This was after Dr Kaunda the founding President, the late Simon Kapwepwe and others broke away from the late Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula-led African National Congress (ANC).

It is also in Kabwe that they held the first rally for ZANC and also gathered at Mulungushi Rock of Authority to execute the Cha Cha Cha master plan, a form disobedience by Africans in which they resorted to vandalism, arson and blocking of main roads.

That action by Africans was meant to force the colonialists to grant independence to Northern Rhodesia.

Dr Kaunda went back to that spot in 1968 for the Mulungushi Reforms in which government decided the State should have control over means of production.

That spot is near the present-day Mulungushi University and across the Great North Road is the King George VI Memorial Training Centre that was officially opened by the Queen Mother in 1967

It was also in Broken Hill that that adventure and best selling novelist Wilbur Smith was born in 1933, twelve years after the discovery of the Kabwe cranium.

Sir Roy Welensky was also resident in Broken Hill when he worked for the Rhodesia Railways before he ascended to the position of Prime Minister of the federation of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland that was abandoned in 1963.

Sports tourism

Kabwe has also been the residence of great sportsmen, among them goal king, the late Godfrey Ucar Chitalu and the late boxer Charm "Shuffle" Chitelu.

Chitalu's 107 goals in the 1972 season have not been rivaled in global football history even by world-renowned soccer players like Gerd Muller and Lionel Messi.

Soccer enthusiasts could visit Kabwe to see the small ground named after Chitalu, where he played and coached Kabwe Warriors before he died as coach for the Zambian national team that perished in an air crash in Gabon in 1993.

And before he died in 2008, boxer Chiteule was based in Kabwe and could take on great punch throwers like Carlos Bryant in Las Vegas, USA and Ghana's Nelson Azumah.

The future

Kabwe stands a better chance of diversifying the economy away from mining, long distance railways operations, substance fishing, textiles and agriculture to tourism.

Inter-town railway transport cannot only provide an alternative to road transport on the main local route, but is also ideal for weekend leisure tours, on-board games and mobile catering.

Kabwe deserves a museum for its political heritage, potential for safari tours as well camping and the display of the replica of Broken Hillman's skull, the town's unforgettable trademark.

The author is a freelance journalist and a transport and logistics professional who has toured more than 40 districts for his book, Zambian People and Places. He is interested to hear about fascinating places as well people (living or dead).