Husband Of London Train Worker Who Died From COVID-19 Complications After Being Spat On Speaks Up
The heartbroken husband of a London train worker who died from Coronavirus after being spat on by a thug says his world and that of their 11-year-old daughter is speaking up as he slams her bosses over lack of PPE.
Belly Mujinga, 47, was working at London’s Victoria Station in March when a man spat and coughed at her and a colleague. Within days of the incident, both women fell ill with the virus.
Mrs Mujinga, who had underlying respiratory problems, was admitted to Barnet Hospital and put on a ventilator but died on April 5, her trade union, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association said.
Speaking with The Sun after police interviewed and then released a 57-year-old man following the spitting incident on March 21, Lusamba Katalay originally from Congo revealed how losing his wife has broken his family.
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The last time he saw his wife in person was when an ambulance took her from their flat in Hendon, north London. She died two days later at Barnet Hospital.
‘I don’t know how I’d react if I saw the man who did this,’
he said.
‘I’m normally reasonable but I’m so devastated right now I might lose it and attack him, I just don’t know. And my anger won’t bring her back.’
Mr. Katalay, 60, says his wife, a former BBC journalist, pleaded with him from her hospital bed not to let their daughter Ingrid see her as they spoke during their final video call.
‘She told me that she didn’t want Ingrid to see her like that,’
he said.
‘She said, ‘Pray for me’.
‘The next morning I got the call saying she’d died. She was our whole world. She’d do anything for anyone.’
Mr. Katalay welcomed Home Secretary Priti Patel’s pledge to double the maximum common assault jail sentence to 12 months for offenders who spit at key workers but want a stricter prison term.
He also demanded an explanation from the Government as to why his late wife had not been given PPE, saying the lack of protective gear also put him and his daughter in ‘mortal danger’.
A spokesman for British Transport Police said on Saturday:
A 57-year-old man from London was interviewed under caution last Sunday at a London police station.
Detectives are investigating. They’re not looking to identify anyone else.