Before passing sentence, the court called on defendant Yanyi Ampa to explain himself under Section 162(h) of the Plea Bargaining Act 1079. Senior State Attorney Mercy Arthur and his lawyer Richard Asare Baffour confirmed that both had agreed to the plea bargain.
Yangyi Ampa, who initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea deal to a new one after the deal was reached. Judge Marie Louise Symons confirmed the terms of the plea deal were clear and said:
In the ruling, “The court took into consideration the defendant’s eight months of detention from his arrest in May 2021 until his release on bail.”
“I also considered the merits of a plea agreement, which shortened the trial and reduced the burden on both the prosecution and the court.”
The court noted that the defendant, now a convicted offender, also did not appear to be familiar with the law and showed no remorse.
The court noted Yangyi Ampa had shown remorse and had no previous criminal convictions, but Judge Simmons stressed that the reckless negligence that led to the baby’s death was a key factor in sentencing.
Details of the incident
The tragic incident involved Randy and Patricia Akka Mensah, the parents of 11-month-old Allegra Camille Yaba Akka Mensah, who enrolled at Happy Bloomers School on April 6, 2021. Yani Ampa was caring for Allegra and the other two children.
On May 18, 2021, Allegra, who turned 11 months old that day, was brought to school in good spirits. At about 2:50pm, teacher Gladys Osei found Allegra unresponsive while Yanyi Ampa was changing her clothes. Resuscitation efforts were made at North Legon Hospital but Allegra was pronounced dead.
CCTV footage showed Yangyi Ampa force-feeding Allegra by shoving food down her throat with a cup, contrary to the school’s policy of using spoons with young children. The autopsy report determined Allegra died of choking after swallowing food after being force-fed.
Yanyi Ampa was charged with culpable homicide under Section 29(50) of the Criminal Code of 1960 and was tried at the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra.