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The Liberia national who was flown to Ghana for medical attention but ended up being abandoned shortly on arrival by the employer has passed on. He died in the early hours of Sunday January 10, 2015 at the Narh Bita Hospital where he had been on admission since October last year.

The remains have since been deposited at the Tema General Hospital but it is unclear whether the body will be interred here in Ghana or will be repatriated and who takes responsibility from this point.

Deputy Medical Director of the Narh Bita hospital, Dr. Catherine Larko Narh-Menkah said: “We have arranged, in the interim, for him to be deposited in the morgue while we consider the next line of action. As a socially responsible corporate entity, we did our best even under the very difficult condition given his peculiar situation; it is rather sad he went through these terrible experience and died as a result”.

Fifty-four year old Moses Negbe was flown to Ghana for specialist attention by his employer, the Global Marine Investment Limited (GMI) after a workplace accident on August 31, 2015 at a port in Liberia left him with multiple spine injury.

Due to the complex nature of the injury which could not readily be attended to in Liberia, GMI arranged for his treatment here in Ghana and brought him to the Narh Bita Hospital but abandoned him a few days later.

Despite the numerous contacts made with the GMI officials and the authorities of the Liberian Embassy (Ghana) by the hospital administration, none of the two institutions showed up since October last year.

Until his demise, Mr. Negbe was confined to his bed and could hardly move any part of his body even after the surgery which was successfully conducted on Thursday October 29, 2015.  His post-surgical care and daily upkeep became a burden not only on the facility but the nurses on the ward who contributed to put food on the table for both the patient and his nephew, Johnny Johnson, who accompanied him to Ghana for the treatment.

Presently, his nephew has been left stranded at the hospital with no money to feed or return to his home country following the expiration of his air ticket just the day before his uncle’s death.

Background

Moses Negbe was working in a Liberian port on August 31, 2015 when a log fell from a crane and crushed his colleague to death, leaving him (Negbe) in a critical condition.

He was first rushed to the JFK Medical Centre in Monrovia where he spent forty days but had to be flown out of the country for a specialist attention which was not readily available in the country.

His employer then arranged for his transfer from the hospital in Liberia and made an initial payment for the surgery with a promise to provide for his upkeep while on admission here in Ghana as well as his return back to Liberia after treatment. 

Two weeks after their arrival, the company turned it back on Negbe and his nephew who accompanied him on the treatment. All efforts to reach them including calls to the company’s lead contact who doubles as a Field Agent, one Joe Sayahway, yielded no result.

Liberian Embassy’s indifference

The Liberian Embassy which should have been responsible for Negbe’s welfare (given his predicament and particularly his status as a Liberian national), also showed no interest in the issue, describing it as a private affair despite the numerous phone calls and visits to the consulate by Mr. Negbe’s nephew and official of the hospital.