Chililabombwe Council

Chililabombwe District is the northern terminus of the Zambian rail line in the Copperbelt Province. Its novice main Copper Mine, the Bancroft mine was opened in 1957. Shortly after Zambia’s attainment of independence in 1964, the town changed its name from Bancroft to Chililabombwe. The name came from “Kililabombwe” meaning ‘croaking frogs’ in ichilamba, a language of the indigenous settlers in the area. The croaking frogs were believed to be ancestral spirits of the Lamba people.