A 47-year-old mother died weeks after a man who claimed to have the Chinese coronavirus spat and coughed at her while she was working at a railway station in London.
On March 22, Belly Mujinga, a railway ticket office worker, was assaulted alongside her colleague by a man while the two were on duty at London Victoria station. The two women fell ill with symptoms of the coronavirus days after the attack.
Describing the horrific attack, her husband, Lusamba Gode Katalay said per ITV: “The man asked her what she was doing, why she was there, and she said they were working. The man said he had the virus and spat on them. They reported it to their supervisor. Belly came home and told me everything.”
Mujinga was hospitalised on April 2 and was put on a ventilator, yet tragically died three days after being admitted to the hospital. Her husband said that she had chronic respiratory issues prior to contracting the virus and had undergone an operation four years earlier. Mr Katalay said that the day she was hospitalised was the last day he saw his wife.
“We just said: ‘Be good,’ and that God is in charge. We did a WhatsApp video in hospital, but then I didn’t hear from her again. I thought she might be asleep, but the doctor to phoned me to tell me she had died,” he said.
British Transport Police said that they have launched a criminal investigation into the incident. The attack was only recently reported to police, despite claims from Mrs Mujinga’s union, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), that she and her co-worker had asked for the matter to be referred to police at the time of the attack.
The TSSA also raised questions as to why Mrs Mujinga was working at the railway station at all with her underlying health issues and said that they are considering taking legal action over the matter.
“As a vulnerable person in the ‘at risk’ category, and her condition known to her employer, there are questions about why she wasn’t stood down from frontline duties early on in this pandemic,” said Manuel Cortes of the TSSA.
“Rather than talking about the easing the lockdown, the Government must first ensure that the right precautions and protections have been taken so that more lives are not lost,” Cortes added.
In response to the tragic attack, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “It is despicable for a key worker to be attacked in this way while serving the travelling public.”
“Our thoughts are with Mrs Mujinga family’s at this terrible time,” the spokesperson added.
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