Mujinga's death while working without PPE at Victoria station galvanized UK protests over worker safety and racial inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Facts
- Age at death
- 47 years old
- Date of death
- 5 April 2020
- Alleged incident date
- 21 March 2020
- Petition signatures
- Over 2 million
- Employer
- Govia Thameslink Railway
- Workplace at incident
- London Victoria station
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On 21 March 2020, Belly Mujinga and a coworker were allegedly spat and coughed on by a man who claimed to have COVID-19 while they worked on the station concourse at London Victoria. Neither worker had personal protective equipment, and Mujinga had reportedly requested reassignment to an enclosed area due to pre-existing respiratory issues.
Mujinga was subsequently hospitalised at Barnet Hospital with COVID-19 complications, placed on a ventilator, and died on 5 April 2020 in Barnet, North London. She was a 47-year-old Congolese-born ticket seller employed by Govia Thameslink Railway, working as a frontline worker during the early weeks of the pandemic.
After her case was closed in May 2020, Mujinga's death sparked widespread protests in the UK demanding justice and improved protections for frontline and minority workers. A petition exceeded two million signatures, and the demonstrations overlapped with George Floyd protests. She became widely regarded as a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United Kingdom.