A Black railway worker in London has died from COVID-19 after being spat on during an altercation in March.

According to the BBC, 47-year-old Belly Mujinga worked in the railway ticket office in London's Victoria station and continued going to work despite preexisting respiratory problems. 

Lusamba Gode Katalay, Mujinga's husband, told the BBC that Mujinga was on the station platform on March 22 when a man approached her and said he was infected with COVID-19. 

"She told him she was working and the man said he had the virus and spat on her," he said.

Within just a few days of the incident, she fell sick and was taken to Barnet Hospital on April 2. That would be the last time Katalay saw her alive. She was quickly put on a ventilator as her condition worsened, but she died just three days later. 

"She was a good person, a good mother, and a good wife. She was a caring person and would take care of everybody," her husband said, adding that he and their 11-year-old daughter could not even speak to Mujinga in her final days and were told she died over the phone.

In a tearful interview with Sky News, Katalay spoke about the tragic situation. He said Mujinga's employer forced her to go back to work after the incident without masks or gloves.

"They weren't given masks or gloves, so they were exposed to everyone. It's her employer, the company and the state who have to look at that," he said. 


The family held a small funeral for her. In attendance was her daughter and cousins, who told the BBC she never should have been working considering her respiratory issues. 

"She shouldn't have died in this condition. We could have prevented it — if she had more PPE or if they kept her inside instead of being on the concourse," Agnes Ntumba said.

According to data shared by the BBC, at least 42 transportation workers in London have died from COVID-19.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the attack "despicable," and British Transport Police said they were searching for the man who spat on Mujinga.

"It is despicable for a key worker to be attacked in this way while serving the traveling public. Our thoughts are with Mrs. Mujinga family’s at this terrible time," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Manuel Cortes, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) general secretary, said that he still had "questions about her death."

"We are shocked and devastated at Belly’s death. She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus. Sadly, Belly’s is just one of many family tragedies where children have had their parents taken away from them. However, there are serious questions about her death; it wasn’t inevitable," Cortes said.

"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. 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. Our rail industry needs to have a very serious look at what tasks are deemed ‘essential’ and must put protections in place for all our members and our passengers," he added.

In a statement to CNN, TSSA said Mujinga and another colleague "begged to be let to work from inside the building with a protective barrier between them and the public for the rest of that day."

"Management said they needed people working outside and sent them back out onto the concourse for the rest of their shift," TSSA said.

Ntumba told Sky News that someone should be charged for Mujinga's death.

"The husband is here, the daughter is here. We could have lost all of them. We need justice, if the person is caught he needs to do his sentence — for Belly," Ntumba said. 

According to The Guardian, Mujinga moved to the U.K. in 2000 and was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

As of April 17, 801 Black British people have died from the coronavirus, accounting for 5.8% of all COVID-19 deaths despite representing just 3.5% of the population, according to a recent report. 

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