When will endless condolences stop being enough and when will actual justice prevail?

Belly Mujinga was a British-Congolese 47-year-old railway ticket worker, who died on April 5th earlier this year after being spat at by a man claiming to have COVID-19. She was working at Victoria station alongside a colleague when she was assaulted. Both women fell ill with the virus, however Belly passed away 3 days after being admitted to Barnet Hospital and put on a ventilator.

Belly Mujinga’s untimely death sparked national outrage after the British Transport police interviewed  the 57-year-old suspect, but concluded there was no “evidence to substantiate any criminal offences having taken place, and the tragic death of Belly Mujinga was not a consequence of this incident”. Following the growing public interest, the CPS  was asked to review the case, although they  came to the same conclusion. They stated that there was no consistent and reliable evidence to substantiate the allegation that the man responsible for her death had deliberately spat on her. As the medical tests confirmed that he had not been infected with COVID-19, together with lack of evidence, ruled out any charges in relation to homicide. Belly Mujinga’s case has since been closed, and there has been no effort to take further action to bring justice to her 11-year-old daughter, husband, family and friends. In addition to failure from the BTP and CPS to prosecute the man responsible for her death, Belly was also failed by her employer, as she was not provided with PPE despite her request, as well as the government, whose guidelines the employers were following.

Since her death, however, in a similar case a man  was jailed for spitting at a London bus driver during the height of the pandemic. Kevin Simpson was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison for Actual Bodily Harm (ABH). Another man, George Crean,  was jailed for 12 months after spitting on a police officer and ‘joked’ about having the virus. There have been many other similar cases throughout the pandemic. The Justice Secretary Robert Buckland ironically announced the government’s plans to double the maximum sentence for attacks on emergency workers, while people have been chanting Belly Mujinga’s name across nationwide Black Lives Matter protests in a bid to gain justice for her death. In light of these swift prosecutions that have happened just shortly after her death, we are all wondering when justice will happen for Belly. The Black Lives Matter protests have kept Belly’s name alive, her husband Lusamba Katalay stating that they have ‘defended his wife’s cause’.  He also said, “We want justice for Belly. Belly did not lie about being assaulted. Belly and her colleague were confronted and intimidated as frontline workers and their concerns, and their fears were ignored. We continue to have questions after the police investigation”.

When will endless condolences stop being enough and when will actual justice prevail?

At JAN Trust we stand against all racism. We have worked with BAME and marginalised women for 31 years to educate, encourage and empower them to become active citizens and help tackle issues that arise within their communities. Find out more about our projects through our website.