Friends of the Rail Forum

The family and friends of a railway ticket office worker who died of coronavirus after being spat at while on duty say the incident raises serious questions for her employer.

Belly Mujinga, 47, was working on the concourse of Victoria station in central London on the morning of 22 March when a man who said he had Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague. Within days of the assault, both women fell ill with the virus...

Police have recovered CCTV footage of a suspect who spat at a railway ticket office worker who died later of coronavirus, amid fears that spitting is being used as a weapon against frontline workers...

British Transport police said detectives had now identified a 57-year-old man in connection with the alleged assault. “He was interviewed under caution today, Sunday 17 May, at a London police station,” a spokeswoman said. “Detectives will continue to collate evidence and investigate the circumstances behind the incident. They are not looking to identify anyone further in relation to the incident”...

British Transport Police say no evidence to substantiate offence against Belly Mujinga...

The Crown Prosecution Service has been asked to review evidence into the death of the railway worker Belly Mujinga in recognition of wider public interest, although the case is not being reopened, British Transport Police said...

After investigation the BTP took no further action in the case because they did not find CCTV evidence that she had been spat at or coughed on. They concluded: “There is no evidence to substantiate any criminal offences having taken place, and the tragic death of Belly Mujinga was not a consequence of this incident.” The decision sparked anger among demonstrators at this week’s Black Lives Matter protest. Many chanted Mujinga’s name and called for justice for her.

The BTP released a further statement on Friday to help contextualise their approach to investigating the allegations: “Following a review of all the information available, including the CCTV footage, witness statements and explanations given in interviews, senior detectives concluded that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate that any criminal offences had taken place and that the death of Mrs Mujinga did not occur as a consequence of that incident”...

An inquest will held into the death of Belly Mujinga, the railway worker who died with Covid-19 after an alleged incident where she was coughed on and spat at by a customer... The senior coroner Andrew Walker has decided there needs to be an inquest into Mujinga’s death, which her family has campaigned for, as her death may have been “unnatural”...