What could be described as a blow in the faces of Majority Bloc lawmakers in their quest to remove House of Representatives Speaker J. Fonati Koffa took place over the weekend, after the Supreme Court of Liberia issued a stay order on the process instructing the body to return to status quo ante.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes barely a day after the Majority Bloc announced the removal of Speaker Koffa on Thursday, November 21, 2024, and went ahead to elect Representative Richard Koon as new Speaker of the 55th National Legislature, leading Koffa to file a writ of mandamus to the Supreme Court.
The Court on Friday, November 22, 2024, ordered its Marshall to notify the Minister of Justice/Attorney General to appear and file returns on the side of the law before the FULL BENCH of the Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia, Temple of Justice, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at the hour of 9:00 a.m., as to whether or not the Petitioners’ Petition should be granted.
The Supreme Court further commanded the marshal to notify the referenced members of the House of Representatives to also file their returns. “You are further commanded to instruct the Minister of Justice and the referenced Members of the House of Representatives to file their OFFICIAL RETURNS to this Writ in the Office of the Clerk of this Honorable Court on or before the said 26th day of November A. D. 2024; and have the members of the House of Representatives to return to status quo ante and stay all further proceedings or actions pending the determination of the matter,” the court said.
The high court also instructed that the marshal reads the original of the writ when being served and leave a copy with the parties, making known to the court as to when and how the writ was served by fling his OFFICIAL RETURNS on the back of the original copy in the Office of the Clerk of Court before the said 26″ day of November A. D. 2024.
Responding to the Supreme Court’s order, embattled Speaker Koffa said, “From the day of our ascendance we pledge transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law. We have never wavered in that regard even to our own detriment. As the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes in Liberia, we pledge to respect and uphold the decision of the high court in this matter, win, lose or draw. No more business as usual. The law is the law.”
However, the Majority Bloc through one of its members Representative Gahr Fahnbulleh said the body will receive the communication from the Supreme Court on tomorrow, Tuesday, November 26, 2024, and act on it in session where their Speaker (Koon) will be presiding, adding that “the Supreme Court can’t interfere with our administrative decision. Representative Koffa has been removed, and we elected a new Speaker already.”
It can be recalled that during last Thursday’s session of the House of Representatives, the Majority Bloc, shortly after acquiring a resolution signed by at least 50 lawmakers calling for the removal of Speaker Koffa, went ahead to declare the speakership position vacant, suggesting that Speaker Koffa had been ousted from his post to now serve the legislature as a common representative.
Without wasting any time, the body moved further to nominate Montserrado County District #11 Representative Richard Koon to contest for the position on a white ballot, meeting the consensus of all members. The lawmaker was immediately elected and sworn in as the Speaker of the House of Representatives even though embattled Speaker Koffa had made no statement of resignation and the process to have him removed was not fully followed.
Earlier, Koffa had written a letter instructing all directors, deputies, assistants, and sectional heads not to attend any acquaintance meeting with the Acting Chairman on Rules, Orders, and Administration, Rep. James Kolleh, who was appointed on last Tuesday after the Majority Bloc suspended Representative Marvin Cole from his position as Acting Chairman on Rules, Orders and Administration.
The Liberian Constitution is clear as to how a Speaker can be elected and removed from office. Article 49 of the Constitution says “The House of Representative shall elect once every six years a Speaker who shall be the presiding body, a Deputy Speaker, and such other officers shall ensure the proper functioning of the House. The Speaker, Deputy Speaker and other officers so elected may be removed from office for cause by resolution of a two-thirds majority of the members of the House”.
Considering that there is nowhere in the constitution where it says that lawmakers absent from session can assemble anywhere outside House Chambers, and without the Speaker, convene session to conduct legislative business, the question of the legality of the process removing Speaker Koffa will now be a point of contention.
The removal plot against Koffa began to take significant turn on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, when two lawmakers from Koffa’s Minority Bloc of 30 lawmakers joined the Majority Bloc of 43 bringing the total number to 45.
The joining of the two lawmakers including Montserrado County District #17 Representative Bernard Blue Benson and Gbarpolu County District #1 Representative Zinnah Norman, put the speaker in a thin situation as the Majority Bloc was now needing only four more lawmakers to acquire the legally accepted number of 49 members required to unseat a speaker, but the number would exponentially jump to 50 within just a period of one day leading to the controversial election of Representative Koon as speaker. Both lawmakers said their decision to join the Majority was in the best interest of their constituents and not influenced by bribes.
Meanwhile, the Majority Bloc went ahead to appoint new leaders and removed others heading key legislative committees. Those voted to be removed are Representative Dixon Seboe and Representative Ellen Attoh Wreh as Chair and Co-Chair on the Ways means, Finance, and Budget Committee. They mandated the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Liberia, and all commercial banks not to do business with these lawmakers. Representative Mike Jurry of Maryland County District #1 has been appointed Acting Chair on Ways, Means, and Finance, replacing ousted Representative Dixon Seboe.
In a related development, the Majority Bloc also suspended lawmakers—Montserrado County District #13 Representative Edward P. Flomo, District #14 Representative Abu Kamara, and Bong County District #3 Representative Marvin Cole.
Their decision was based on the lawmakers’ failure to appear before the Investigative Committee Of The Whole for allegations of gross disrespect and public disrepute to the honorable House of Representatives. The action, according to them, is in line with the House’s Standing Rules 48.1 allowing a 30-day suspension of lawmakers that includes forfeiture of salaries and legislative benefits.
The body also appointed Bong County District #2 Representative James Kolleh to serves as Acting Chair on Rules, Order, and Administration, replacing Representative Marvin Cole, while Bong County District#1 Representative Prince Koniah has assumed the position of Acting Co-Chair of the Committee on Public Accounts and Audit, replacing Representative Dorwon Gleekia.
These events unfolded barely a day after Speaker Koffa told the Majority Bloc that resignation is an optional and a voluntary act and he has no intentions of resigning his position for any reasons. Speaker Koffa said those calling for him to resign should use their time and resources to convince the so-called Majority Bloc to come to work.
Koffa said he will continue to stand with the Constitution of Liberia as the House’s Standing Rules make it clear that 37 members are needed to elect a speaker and 49 members to remove. “The day you get your 49 members, I will not spend a day in my office. I will pack my things and leave, but anything other than what the constitution says, I’m not going to resign due to the savage greed of any so-called majority block,” Koffa said.
