Belly Mujinga death: No further action after Victoria station worker dies with coronavirus 'after spitting incident'

No further action will be taken after a ticket office worker died with coronavirus after allegedly being spat out while on duty at London's Victoria Station, British Transport Police (BTP) has confirmed.

The force came to the decision following “extensive enquiries” by detectives, they announced on Friday.

Belly Mujinga, 47, was on the station concourse in March when a member of the public claiming to have Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said earlier this month.

Within days of the assault, both women fell ill with the virus.

Ms Mujinga, who had underlying respiratory problems, was admitted to Barnet Hospital and died on April 5.

However, in a statement, the BTP said that following a "full and thorough investigation" it deemed that the "tragic death of Belly Mujinga was not a consequence of this incident."

The statement read: “On 11 May, it was reported to BTP that a 47-year-old lady, Belly Mujinga, had been spat and coughed at while working in the ticket hall with two colleagues on 21 March.

“Very sadly, she died on 5 April in hospital, having tested positive for coronavirus.

“Detectives have conducted extensive inquiries to establish the full circumstances of what happened on 21 March.

“This has involved reviewing CCTV footage of the incident and speaking to key witnesses.

“Following a review of all the information, senior detectives have concluded that there is no evidence to substantiate any criminal offences having taken place, and that the tragic death of Belly Mujinga was not a consequence of this incident.

“As a result, the matter will not be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service.

“No further action will be taken against a 57-year-old man from London who was interviewed in connection with this matter.

“Belly’s family have been informed about the result of the investigation and will continue to be supported by specialist officers.”

Detective Chief Inspector Sam Blackburn said: “I know the loss of Belly has moved so many people, and I can assure you we have done everything we can to provide answers for her family.

“As a result of our inquiries, we can now be confident that this incident did not lead to Belly’s tragic death.

“Our thoughts remain with her family and we will continue to support them as they come to terms with the loss of their much-loved mother and wife.”

More than 249,000 people have signed a change.org petition, seeking justice for Ms Mujinga's family, whose trade union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) received messages from across the UK and countries including the US and Germany.

Her husband Lusamba​ Katalay said the family had been touched by the kindness and good wishes sent from all over the world.

He said: “It was terrible what happened to Belly.

“She was scared by what happened to her at work and then she was so terribly ill with the virus.

“Some days I wake up and I forget she’s not with us, and then we start grieving all over again, and we are just one family out of thousands in that place.

“Thank you for highlighting the problems that vulnerable people have, people like Belly who had a respiratory health problem and the need for PPE (personal protective equipment).

“We can’t change what happened to Belly, but we can try to ensure that her colleagues are better protected than she was.”

A gofundme page raised almost £43,000 for the family.

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