By Staff Writer | Smart News Liberia
MONROVIA, LIBERIA – Mrs. Joana Domingo Joekai, Director of Nursing Services at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFKMC), has resigned from her position, alleging that hospital management ignored her police clearance and failed to reinstate her following a controversial Ebola preparedness investigation.
Her resignation takes effect on August 25, 2026, ending nearly two years of leadership at Liberia’s largest referral hospital and raising fresh questions about administrative accountability and due process at the country’s premier public healthcare institution.
In her resignation letter, Joekai said her decision followed a series of administrative actions that persisted despite her cooperation with investigators and her eventual clearance by the Liberia National Police (LNP) over allegations linked to an Ebola preparedness training.
She said she submitted her police clearance, formally sought reinstatement, and later challenged a decision to second her to the Ministry of Health. According to Joekai, none of those requests received a meaningful response.
“Silence prevailed. No explanation was provided. No acknowledgment was issued. No lawful basis for continued exclusion from my position was communicated,” she wrote.
Joekai said the continued lack of communication convinced her that she could no longer effectively perform her duties under the prevailing circumstances.
The dispute traces back to May when a recorded voice message circulated widely on Liberian social media claiming that suspected Ebola patients had entered Liberia and that health authorities were concealing the information.
The recording triggered widespread public concern in a country that continues to bear the painful memory of the devastating 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak.
As part of the hospital’s response, JFK Medical Center suspended Registered Nurse Paola N. Bedell pending an administrative investigation into the origin of the recording.
Bedell denied creating the audio message, instead claiming she was repeating information allegedly shared by Joekai during an Ebola preparedness training. According to Bedell, nurses were told that travelers arriving from Uganda were being quarantined over suspected Ebola infections and advised to exercise heightened precautions.
Joekai has consistently denied making those statements, maintaining that the allegations against her were false and that the Liberia National Police ultimately cleared her after completing its investigation.
Despite that clearance, she said JFK management neither reinstated her nor provided any legal justification for keeping her out of office.
While Joekai maintains that she was unfairly treated, sources familiar with the matter have presented a sharply different version of events.
According to those sources, Joekai allegedly had a strained relationship with senior management before the Ebola controversy and had previously faced disciplinary action for repeated acts of alleged insubordination.
The sources further alleged that she repeatedly refused to comply with the hospital’s nursing uniform policy by wearing business suits instead of the required nursing attire, conduct management reportedly viewed as open defiance of institutional regulations.
They also claimed that tensions escalated during the Ebola misinformation investigation, alleging that Joekai and her husband, Civil Service Agency Director General Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., confronted hospital officials and pressured staff during the investigation. Sources further alleged that she warned management that her husband’s senior government position could make matters difficult for JFK Medical Center.
Smart News Liberia has not independently verified these allegations. Joekai has publicly denied them, insisting that she cooperated fully with investigators and was exonerated by the Liberia National Police.
A healthcare executive with more than two decades of nursing and executive leadership experience in the United States, Joekai said she returned to Liberia to help strengthen the country’s healthcare system.
She cited several reforms introduced during her tenure, including improvements in nursing administration, clinical standards, professional development, quality assurance, workforce discipline, continuing education, patient safety, and supervision across JFK Medical Center and its affiliated facilities.
She said she left behind a successful international career to contribute to improving Liberia’s healthcare sector.
Despite criticizing JFK Medical Center’s management, Joekai emphasized that her resignation should not be interpreted as a rejection of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr.’s administration.
She reaffirmed her confidence in the President’s governance and public-sector reform agenda while expressing appreciation for the confidence he has placed in her husband, Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., whom she described as committed to strengthening Liberia’s civil service.
Joekai also thanked healthcare workers, patients, and the Liberian people for the opportunity to serve, expressing hope that JFK Medical Center will continue advancing quality healthcare delivery.
Joekai’s resignation leaves unresolved questions about how JFK Medical Center handled the dispute, particularly following her reported clearance by the Liberia National Police.
The case has intensified debate over due process, leadership accountability, institutional transparency, and personnel management within Liberia’s largest referral hospital.
As of publication, JFK Medical Center has not publicly responded to the allegations contained in Joekai’s resignation letter, including her claims that management ignored her requests for reinstatement after she was cleared by the Liberia National Police.
Until the hospital addresses those claims, competing narratives surrounding the controversy are likely to remain the subject of continued public scrutiny.
