MONROVIA, Montserrado – Over the past decade, the Liberian government has often spent tens of thousands of dollars in fees in each high-profile case of mysterious death. The frequency of these cases has often elicited the question of why Liberia does not have locally-based pathologists.

Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis N. Kateh, provided an update on the situation by disclosing that the three prospective Liberian pathologists undergoing training at the University of Ghana’s School of Medicine have two more years of study left.

Kateh, who communicated via email, did not disclose the names of the three individuals being trained but said the students participating in the three-year program had already acquired their Doctor of Medicine degrees before beginning their training.

He added that the contracts signed by the three trainees bind them to working for the Government of Liberia, but he did not specify the number of years.

When quizzed about plans to establish a school in Liberia to train pathologists, the Chief Medical Officer responded, “Yes, there is a possibility for training, but it is a process that may take some time. What is critical now is to continue training young physicians that will build their expertise and later become professors.”

Recent high profile deaths that have compelled the government to hire foreign pathologists  include that of whistleblower Michael Allison, whose body was found on the beach in 2015; Victoria Zayzay, who was found dead in police cell in 2015; two children, Reuben Joe and Alvin Moses, who police say died of suffocation in a vehicle on the Robertsfield highway; and  Harry Greaves, the former Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Corporation, whose lifeless body was discovered on the beach earlier this year.

Some of the autopsies conducted by the foreign pathologists had to be performed multiple times, increasing the costs to the government.

For Allison’s death, the Liberia National Police brought a pathologist from Sierra Leone to conduct the initial autopsy. However, former Justice Minister Benedict Sannoh, amid dissatisfaction among the public, announced that the result of the first autopsy conducted on Allison would be withheld pending the arrival of another pathologist from the United States, to carry out a second autopsy after which, findings would be made public.

For Victoria Zayzay, two autopsies were also performed, with the first report being inconclusive on the cause of death. The result of the second autopsy is still pending, although Zayzay’s remains have been interred.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah