The Rule of Law Caucus of the House of Representatives has condemned what it calls the unlawful storming of the Capitol and the vandalisation and desecration of the speaker’s office in an attempt to evict embattled Speaker J. Fonati Koffa without any court order or legal authority.
During the morning hours of Tuesday, February 11, 2025, a group of persons under the supervision of Representative James Kolleh, Majority Bloc lawmakers Chairman on Rules, Order and Administration, moved into the building along with security officers and a team of journalists and subsequently broke into the speaker’s office by using forceful means to burst the doors open.
The individuals were seen taking down wall arts and pictures of the embattled speaker as well as personal belongings including important documents, books, stationary, amongst several other valuables, and took them to another destination in the absence of the Koffa.
Representative Kolleh said the speaker’s office is a statutory space reserved for anyone who becomes the speaker of the House of Representatives and whoever ascends to the speakership position should enjoy the privileges and benefits associated with that office.
He said the office had been seized by the embattled speaker and several efforts were made to have him turn it over but he blatantly refused.
“We need to have this office prepared for use by the speaker (Rebel-style Speaker Richard Koon). As you are aware it’s a statutory office; it enables the speaker to have his staff including press director, COS, deputy COS, resource officer, gender coordinator and the list goes on. So there are a couple of staff that need to be in there. We also need that office to enable him (Koon) to have a comfortable space to interact with guests to be able to discuss the interest of Liberia,” Kolleh said.
He said it was against this backdrop that the Plenary took the decision to enable the committee on rules and order to carry on the exercise.
But the Rule of Law Caucus through its Chairman Representative Musa Bility said at such a critical time, they call on the President of Liberia to immediately address the reckless actions of these individuals, as their behavior poses a direct threat to the security and stability of our country.
Bility said these actions are dangerous, undermine the rule of law and create a potential crisis that could spiral out of control.
“We also call on the Minister of Justice to hold these individuals accountable. Their reckless conduct suggests that they may have received assurances that they can act with impunity. However, there is no precedent in the history of our democracy for such lawlessness, and it must not be tolerated,” he said.
The Rule of Law Caucus chairman said it strongly condemns this act of vandalism and calls on all Liberians to join in rejecting such behavior, urging the president, the Cabinet, the international community, the Religious Council, the Council of Churches, the Muslim Council, and all stakeholders to intervene and demand an immediate end to this act of lawlessness.
Meanwhile, the Rule of Law Caucus has informed Representative Kolleh that it will take legal action against him and he will face the full weight of the law for his violent, unlawful, and uncivilized actions, adding that the rule of law must prevail.
