The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been asked to review evidence into the coronavirus-related death of railway worker Belly Mujinga in “recognition of wider public interest”.
It comes one week after the
British Transport
police (BTP) said it was taking no further action in the case. Following the CPS statement on Friday BTP said the review did not mean the case is being reopened.
The 48-year-old died in April after it was reported she had been spat at on the concourse of London’s Victoria Station by a man who said he was infected with Covid-19.
An investigation was opened by the BTP – a full seven weeks after the incident – but it said it had not found any evidence of anyone spitting during the incident and that a 57-year-old man officers interviewed had tested negative for Covid-19.
The decision to review evidence in the case comes after calls for justice for Mujinga at Black Lives Matters events held in the
UK in response to the killing of George Floyd.
On Wednesday, thousands of activists, including members of Mujinga’s family, descended upon Victoria station holding signs demanding justice.
On Friday, which marked two months since Mujinga’s death, her husband Lusamba Katalay said: “Black lives do matter. Belly’s life mattered. It mattered to me, to our daughter, our
Friends and family, to Belly’s colleagues, and now it matters to many thousands of you out there.
“We were there, united in our anger and our grief. United in our determination to be heard and in our determination to get change. We need change so badly.
“We want justice for Belly. Belly didn’t lie about being assaulted. Belly and her colleague were confronted and intimidated as frontline workers and their concerns and their concerns and their fears were ignored. We continue to have questions after the police investigation.
“We want to know why she was sent out to work unprotected on the station concourse that day.
“We want to know why she was working when she had a respiratory condition. We want justice for Belly’s colleagues who still don’t have full PPE. And we want justice for the families of all transport and key workers – they should all be eligible for the government’s compensation scheme for NHS workers and carers who have sadly died from the virus.”
This is a
BREAKING news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.Related... The Tragic Death Of Belly Mujinga And The Psychology Of Spitting In The
Coronavirus Era Belly Mujinga: 'No Evidence Of Anyone Spitting' During Incident, Police Say Police Will Take No Action Over Death Of Railway Worker Belly Mujinga Man Interviewed By Police Over Death Of Belly Mujinga