Dear All

We are organising an online conference to update you on the fight for justice for Belly Mujinga. 

The online conference is free and will occur at 7pm on Thursday 17th December 2020.

The speakers will include Lusamba Katalay (Belly's husband and widower), Motolani Sunmola (Belly's friend and work colleague) and me. 

The link for the meeting is: https://fb.me/e/35InHFdab

Context - 

47-year-old Belly Mujinga worked for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) as a ticket office clerk at Victoria Station in London. On 21st March she and another black colleague were spat at and verbally abused by a man on the concourse, who claimed to have Covid-19. 

Belly was known to have health problems that meant she should not have been placed on frontline duties. Her supervisor ordered her to work on the concourse without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). 

Belly had a grievance against her team leader, citing victimisation and racial discrimination - the same team leader who ordered her to work on the concourse that day. Belly’s role that day according to the rota was in the ticket office - her substantial role and where she both felt and was safer. There were very few customers on the concourse. But she was still made to take up this frontline role.

GTR management didn’t report the assault to the police at any time. They claimed this was because they were unaware it was a ‘spitting incident’, but a later public statement from GTR contradicts this and suggests they were aware of the nature of the assault. Motolani pleaded with their managers not to be sent back to the concourse, but their concerns were ignored. 

A few days later Belly came down with Covid-19 symptoms. It wasn’t until Belly’s consultant phoned her bosses a few days later and insisted she be stood down from work that her manager agreed. By this time she was already desperately ill. She was admitted to hospital on 2nd April, and died three days later, on 5th April, of Covid-19. She leaves behind her husband, Lusamba, and 11-year-old daughter.

In August, the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that no charges would be brought against the man who harassed and coughed/spat/shouted at Belly. The ruling was based on the results from an antibody test, which experts agree are unreliable and which were new to the market at the time.

In September GTR concluded their internal investigation into Belly’s death, which absolved them of any wrongdoing. GTR released two different versions of the report. The first was sent to Belly’s union, the Transport Salaries Staffs’ Association (TSSA), where they admitted they were aware of some of Belly’s underlying health conditions. A month later GTR released a public version of the report, but now claimed they were unaware of her underlying health conditions. 

Motolani, Belly’s friend and colleague who was also assaulted that day, was a formidable union rep. She has now resigned from her job and as a rep and is bringing claims based on a hostile working environment and her constructive dismissal against GTR at the Employment Tribunal. 

There are ongoing health and safety concerns at Victoria and an alleged culture of racism and bullying of Black members of staff. 

Sonali Bhattacharyya from the Justice for Belly Mujinga campaign says:

“We urge people to join this public meeting. This is a chance to hear from Belly Mujinga’s family, friends, colleagues and other speakers, learn about the catalogue of institutional failures, racism, harassment, and negligence that contributed to her avoidable death, and join our campaign for justice.”

Link for the meeting: https://fb.me/e/35InHFdab

The justice campaign is calling for  - 

British Transport Police release the name of Belly’s attacker to the family to allow a civil law claim for compensation to be made.
An inquest into the death of Belly Mujinga.
A full public inquiry into the death of Belly Mujinga.
An extension of the bereavement support scheme to all frontline workers.
Full support and protections for all frontline workers from Covid-19, including risk assessments that take into account the disproportionate risk faced by BAME workers. 
 

E-mail: justiceforbellymujinga@gmail.com

Twitter:@justice4belly and @LDaviesEJ 

Facebook:@justice4belly

Instagram:@justice4belly

Hope to see you there,

 

Kind regards

 

Lawrence