Caregiver jailed for five years in toddler’s death

A 56-year-old professional nurse, Clara Yanyi-Ampah, who worked as a caregiver at Happy Bloomers School in Agbogba, has been sentenced to five years in prison for the death of an 11-month-old baby.

Yanyi-Ampah pleaded guilty to manslaughter after negotiating a plea deal with the Attorney-General's office.

The agreement maintained the manslaughter charge, and both parties recommended a sentence of

Read full articlefive years of hard labor. The court, presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, confirmed the details of the plea agreement before sentencing Yanyi-Ampah.

Senior State Attorney Mercy Arthur and defense attorney Richard Asare Baffour both affirmed their agreement with the plea deal. Initially pleading not guilty, Yanyi-Ampah changed her plea following the agreement. Justice Simmons, after confirming the details, convicted her based on her guilty plea.

Justice Simmons acknowledged the eight months Yanyi-Ampah spent in custody since her arrest in May 2021 before being granted bail. The court also noted that the plea deal shortened the trial and reduced the burden on both the prosecution and the court. Despite showing remorse and having no prior criminal record, her reckless neglect of the baby and indifferent attitude after feeding the child led to the severe sentence.

Brief Facts
The complainants, Randy and Patricia Ackah-Mensah, are the parents of Allegra Camille Yaba Ackah-Mensah, an 11-month-old baby girl who attended Happy Bloomers School in North Legon, Accra. Allegra was enrolled at the school on April 6, 2021. Clara Yanyi-Ampah, employed as a caregiver, was responsible for Allegra and two other children.

On May 18, 2021, Allegra was in good health when she arrived at school. Around 2:50 pm, teacher Gladys Osei found Allegra unresponsive while Yanyi-Ampah was changing her clothes. Despite Yanyi-Ampah's claim that the baby was not asleep, Gladys alerted the school administrator, who rushed Allegra to North Legon Hospital. Allegra was pronounced dead at the hospital despite resuscitation efforts.

CCTV footage from the school revealed that Yanyi-Ampah had forcefully fed Allegra by pouring food down her throat with a cup, contrary to the school’s policy of feeding toddlers with spoons. The cup used belonged to Yanyi-Ampah.

The post-mortem report indicated that Allegra’s trachea, bronchi, and left lung were filled with food particles, leading to asphyxiation from aspiration of food due to forced feeding. Yanyi-Ampah was charged with manslaughter under Section 50 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29, and was tried in the High Court, Criminal Division, Accra.