Trial of the baby crushed in Abass Ndao: negligence at the heart of the debates, 6 months in prison requested

Three years after the tragedy in the neonatal unit of Abass Ndao Hospital—where a premature infant was crushed in a washing machine after being mistakenly placed in a laundry bag—three employees appeared before the Dakar Criminal Court on charges of manslaughter. Les Échos, which attended the hearing, reports that the trial took place on Thursday, September 10. Nurses Ndèye Birame Sylla and Rose Niang Diop, along with laundry worker Astou Diène, are being prosecuted in this case. Only the latter two were present at the hearing; Ndèye Birame Sylla was absent.

In court, Astou Diène explained that she had retrieved the bag left outside the room before placing it directly into the washing machine. "I just picked it up before putting it in the machine. We didn't check the items wrapped in the sheets because they were for babies," she stated. She clarified that the children's laundry was not sorted before washing, unlike the laundry from the operating room.

Rose Niang Diop, for her part, admitted to having taken the bag to the laundry. "Astou retrieved the clothes before putting them in the washing machine. Unfortunately, we found that one of the clothes was crushed," she confided.

Pointing to the negligence of the defendants, the prosecution requested a six-month prison sentence and a 500,000 CFA franc fine for Ndèye Birame Sylla, as well as a 200,000 CFA franc fine for Astou Diène, the newspaper reports. For Rose Niang Diop, the prosecutor deferred to the court's judgment. The defense, for its part, pleaded for acquittal. The plaintiffs are claiming 100 million CFA francs in damages and are also seeking a judgment against the State, which has been implicated in the proceedings. The court will deliver its verdict on December 17, Les Échos concludes.

See below the revelations made by the father of the deceased baby, François Kouderin, to Seneweb a few days after the tragedy.