Belly Mujinga: CPS asked to review investigation into death of railway worker as more than 1 million sign petition for justice

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been asked to review a police investigation into the death of Belly Mujinga, as over a million people signed a petition calling for justice.

Mujinga died of coronavirus in April, several weeks after she was allegedly spat at while working in London’s Victoria station.

Following its investigation, in which a 57-year-old man was interviewed in relation to the incident and CCTV footage was reviewed, British Transport Police (BTP) concluded there was no evidence that a criminal offence had taken place and that Mujinga’s death was “not a consequence of this incident”.

The decision not to take any further action by BTP drew fury from the public. Protesters standing in solidarity with the US’s ongoing demonstrations to fight systemic racism have paid tribute to the transport worker.

A Change.org petition managed by her family, with the support of the TSSA union, has amassed more than 1 million signatures. The petition aims to “secure protection and support for those working at Govia Thameslink Railway” and was initially created to “find and prosecute the individual who assaulted” her.

A statement issued by the BTP on Friday said the it understood “the depth of feeling there is in relation to this case”. It explained that through its investigations, “investigating officers concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a prosecution based upon the allegation that the man spat deliberately on Mrs Mujinga or said that he had the virus”.

“Nonetheless, in recognition of the wider public interest in the circumstances of this case, we have invited independent review by the CPS of the available evidence, and whether there are any further lines of enquiry and opinion in relation to BTP’s position on the prospect of meeting the general principle of a successful prosecution,” said the statement.

“We have kept Mrs Mujinga’s husband and family involved in our deliberations and have shared the information we have with them to help them understand our rationale for the conclusion we reached. Our specialist officers continue to support them as they grieve the loss of an adored mother and wife.

“We hope this helps contextualise our approach to investigating these allegations of a criminal incident, the evidence available to support further judicial proceedings in respect to those allegations and our ongoing compassion for those who knew and loved Belly.”

Mujinga’s husband, Lusamba, thanked the many people who signed the petition and said the public reaction to the case being closed by BTP took the family by surprise.

“On Wednesday, thousands of people protested in London to cry it loud that black lives matter. 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 want justice for Belly."