The House of Representatives has been embroiled in a series of crises originating from the quest of a group of lawmakers under the canopy of the Majority Bloc to remove Representative J. Fonati Koffa as Speaker of the House through a resolution.
The impasse escalated as the body was split into two sessions, with the Majority Bloc of 47 lawmakers calling for the removal of embattled Speaker Koffa began having parallel sessions in the joint chambers, while the Minority in favor of Koffa met in the regular chambers of the House. However, they could not do business due to lack of quorum of 37, and had to adjourn from day to day.
Speaker Koffa fled to the Supreme Court praying for a Writ of Prohibition against the majority lawmakers. The Court, on Friday, October 25, 2024, issued a stay order on proceedings as part of an attempt to oust Speaker Koffa after he prayed the court to intervene. Interestingly, the ‘Majority Bloc’ ignored the Court’s Order and held ‘session’. Key members of the bloc openly challenged the authority of the Supreme Court to intervene in this matter.
On October 31, 2024, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Fallah, joined the “Majority Bloc” apparently in obedience to a letter sent to him by the ‘majority bloc’, commanding him to preside over their sessions as they met the requirement for quorum.
To make matters worse, On October 31, 2024, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Fallah, joined the “Majority Bloc” apparently in obedience to a letter commanding him to preside over their sessions as they met the requirement for quorum.
Fast-forward, on Thursday, November 21, 2024, the issues took a dramatic turn after the Majority Bloc elected held a controversial poll ousting Speaker Koffa and subsequently electing Representative Richard Koon as new Speaker of the 55th National Legislature.
Shortly after the display of a resolution which carried the signatures of more than 49 members required to legally remove a speaker, the Majority Bloc 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.
Meanwhile, the Majority Bloc went ahead to appoint new leaders and removed others heading key legislative committees. They mandated the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Liberia, and all commercial banks not to do business with these lawmakers. It also suspended lawmakers—Montserrado County District #13 Representative Edward P. Flomo, District #14 Representative Abu Kamara, and Bong County District #3 Representative Marvin Cole.
Koffa again took flight to the Supreme Court with a writ of mandamus over the action of the majority, but the court’s ruling in the matter on December 6, 2024 left many citizens in panic as the high court’s opinion casted a dark cloud for chaos and speculation.
The court ruled and ordered the Clerk of Court, Cllr. Sam Mamulu, to inform the both parties to settle their matter, describing the entire saga as ultra vires, meaning “beyond the powers.” This means the court as another branch of government cannot interrupt another branch of government activities that is beyond its power.
The court warned the House to conduct itself accordingly and put their house in order to avoid a different branch making decisions in their matter.
The ruling of the high court did no good as the Majority went ahead with its actions to the point of hearing revenue and expenditures proceedings and passing the Fiscal Year 2025 National Budget in concurrence with the Senate and subsequently signed into law by President Joseph Boakai.
In all these matters, we have consistently denounced any act of lawlessness and have called for unity in the House of Representatives and a return to normality through the holding of a single session.
Therefore, it’s In this light that we hereby welcome the decision of the Minority Bloc lawmakers under the wings of the “Rule of Law Legislative Caucus” to return to session following “the Supreme Court’s failure” to clarify its ruling in the “illegal” removal of Speaker Koffa.
We believe that this move is in the best interest of the people of Liberia who have been the main victims in these legislative impasses, and have had to witness their country’s democracy literally go down the drain through the actions and inactions of those paid through their taxes.
However, we still maintain our earlier position that the Rule of Law should be the pillow of our democracy and must be respected at all times.
We cannot risk creating a state of anarchy where lawlessness or political disorder prevails due to the absence of governmental authority or abuse of power. Liberia Above All Else!
