Belly Mujinga death: Rail worker's Covid inquest will not look into spit incident

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Rail worker Belly Mujinga became ill after allegedly being coughed on and spat at by a passenger.

An inquest into the death of a railway worker will not examine if she was infected with Covid by a passenger who allegedly spat at her.

Belly Mujinga, 47, died in 2020 after she was reportedly coughed on and spat at by a man known as AB.

The coroner on Friday said the inquest will not look at how she caught Covid.

AB tested negative days after the incident and a police investigation concluded there was not enough evidence to show a crime had been committed.

Barnet Coroner’s Court previously heard the inquest would be unlikely to find out how the infection occurred but it may cover where Ms Mujinga was infected.

AB allegedly told Ms Mujinga he was infected at the time of the confrontation but subsequently returned a negative Covid test.

The inquest will focus on whether she should have been shielding at the time, the coroner said.

Ms Mujinga, a married mother of one, had underlying health issues which her family said placed her in the “vulnerable” category.

Elaine Banton, for Ms Mujinga’s family, said: “Belly Mujinga was a disabled employee – there may have been missed opportunities to protect her.”

At a pre-inquest review hearing on Friday, senior coroner Andrew Walker dismissed an application from the family to delay the inquest until the conclusion of the Covid-19 public inquiry.

He claimed it was unlikely the inquiry would offer any information useful to determine the circumstances of Ms Mujinga’s death.

The full inquest is scheduled to begin on 27 June.