A 46-year-old man will go on trial tomorrow accused of murdering his infant son at his Kildare home over 18 years ago.

Yusif Ali Abdi, with an address at Charleville Road, Phibsboro, Dublin 7 is charged with murdering 20-month-old Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare on April 17th, 2001.

Wearing a white jacket over a grey suit, Mr Abdi stood up when arraigned before the Central Criminal Court on Monday morning.

When the registrar read the indictment to the accused and asked him how he was pleading, he replied: “Not guilty”.

A jury of seven men and five women was sworn in to hear the trial, which is due to begin on Tuesday morning before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and is expected to last up to five days.

Addressing the jury on Monday, Mr Justice Michael White said this was a “restricted form of trial”, which centred on the issues of sanity and insanity.

Mr Justice White told the jury they would primarily be concentrating on the medical witnesses and the defence would be calling two psychiatric consultants.