A woman on trial at the Old Bailey accused of killing her three-month-old daughter told officers she would "put it on TikTok live" when they moved to arrest her and later described Great Ormond Street Hospital as "a hospital of white supremacy," jurors heard on Thursday.

Prosecutors say Kaylani Kalanzi suffered violent shaking and an impact to the head while in the care of her parents at the maternal grandmother’s flat in Homerton on the evening of July 8, 2024. The infant was taken to Homerton Hospital, transferred to Great Ormond Street and died on July 23, 2024. Her parents, Herbert Kalanzi, 35, a Ugandan national, and Nazil Merthoca, 24, both deny charges of murder and alternative counts of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Jurors were told the couple were on a child protection plan after social services expressed concerns about their "tumultuous" and mutually abusive relationship, and that Merthoca had been using drugs. Paramedics attempting to treat Kaylani were met with what the prosecution described as aggressive and obstructive behaviour from Merthoca, and the court heard she hung up on the emergency operator who was giving CPR instructions.

Police attended after hospital staff raised concerns and made contact with Merthoca by telephone on July 9, 2024, the jury was told. She told officers, "Why the f*** are you calling me, who gave you my number? I am not at home smash the door in if you want." When officers located the couple in a car outside the grandmother’s flat, Kalanzi allegedly cooperated with being handcuffed. According to the prosecution, Merthoca refused to exit the vehicle, saying, "You’re not gonna grab me, I’m gonna put it on TikTok live."

The court heard that when officers informed the pair they were being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, Kalanzi remained calm and answered questions, while Merthoca continued to protest, asserting she had called an ambulance because the baby was unresponsive and saying, "I did CPR. You’re ruining everything. I haven’t attempted to murder my child, I swear on the holy Quran I haven’t."

Merthoca eventually left the car and was taken to a police station, where she was interviewed at about 5 a.m. the next morning. In that interview, she told the interviewing officer she had been wrongly accused and said Kaylani had been restless and crying; she told police she had found the baby with a scratched eye, had tried to perform CPR after watching videos on YouTube and was shocked when hospital staff identified a bleed on the brain.

During the police interview, Merthoca also accused the officer of shouting and referred to him as a "woman beater," saying the man was trying to intimidate her. She questioned why she was being singled out and said she believed hospital staff were discriminating against her. Prosecutors read extracts of those exchanges to the jury as part of their case.

The prosecution alleges the infant's injuries were the result of violent shaking and an impact while she was in the defendants' care. The defence has told jurors that the couple deny harming the child and argue they did not cause or allow her death. Neither defendant has entered a guilty plea to any offence.

Court was also told that social services had placed Kaylani on a child protection plan before her death after concerns about the parents' relationship. The trial continues at the Old Bailey, where further evidence and witness testimony are expected to be heard in the coming days.