IPNEWS: The office of Representative Fonati Koffa, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has been ordered forcibly burst into allegedly on orders of majority bloc Speaker Richard Koon.
The action occurring early Armed Forces DAY today, February 11, 2025, has sparked debate across Monrovia.
Late January 2025, Speaker Fonati Koffa rejected a letter purportedly written by Chief Clerk Mildred Sayon regarding his office status.
In a strongly worded statement, Koffa accused the Majority Bloc of overstepping its authority and unlawfully acting on behalf of plenary. According to him, the letter was transmitted via WhatsApp by Representative James Kolleh, claiming to reflect a decision of the plenary. However, Koffa argued that plenary had voted on Thursday, January 30, 2025, to defer the matter until Tuesday, February 4, 2025. He denounced the letter as an “unlawful usurpation” of the powers of elected representatives.
The Majority Bloc-led House of Representatives has repeatedly called on Speaker Koffa to vacate the office and make way for their elected Speaker, Richard Koon. However, Koffa has refused, insisting that his removal was illegal.
The impasse has lingered since the Majority Bloc assumed control of the House leadership following a Supreme Court ruling. Their authority was further reinforced when Justice Minister Cllr. Oswald Tweh advised the Executive Branch to recognize the Majority Bloc as legitimate.
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The decision has emboldened the Majority Bloc, which has intensified calls for Koffa to vacate the Speaker’s office for Rep. Richard Koon. Last week, plenary voted to address the issue during Tuesday’s session. However, ahead of that meeting, Koffa alleged that he received a letter from Rep. James Kolleh, supposedly written by Chief Clerk Sayon, requesting him to vacate the office.
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Koffa further referenced Justice Minister Tweh, claiming that his interpretation of the political situation had paved the way for an “illegal act.” He insisted that he would not entertain any further discussions on the matter.
At the forceful busting of Speaker Koffa’s office on Armed Forces Day, Hon. Nelson Kolleh, the representative of District 2, Bong County, accompanied several media outlets to Capitol to watch how the office will be burst to allow the new speaker gained access to the office, from the first door to the main entrance of the Speaker’s office, allowing the Majority bloc Speaker, Richard Koon, to finally occupy the space.
The bursting of Speaker office has sparked public outrage, with many arguing that Koffa was removed illegally and that the situation requires legal attention. Recently, Koffa returned to Liberia from the USA and expressed his intention not to sit under the controversial Speaker Richard Koon during regular sessions.
As of now, Representative Fonati Koffa is yet to formally surrender his former office to Speaker Richard Koon.
Meanwhile, the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia’s through Associate Justice Yarmie Quiqui Gbeisay has provided reasons why the Supreme Court did not attend President Joseph Boakai’s second State of the Nation Address:
“We made a decision and the effect of that decision was that look, our law requires that the house should have a quorum and that quorum should be presided over by a speaker. Now that you the quote-on-quote majority bloc have a quorum, but we don’t see a speaker there, so whatever you do is ultra-virus. In other words, it is illegal”.
“We turned to the minority bloc and said minority bloc, the law says until you can get a majority to get a quorum, you must continue to adjourn from day to day and compel the other people to join. But no statute is telling us how you will compel the people. You don’t have a rule that tells us how you will compel the people. So you too will remain there. Until you can get a majority, whatever you do is an “ultra virus”. “So on both sides, the Supreme Court was clearly saying go and solve your problems; we don’t have a law to that effect”.
“We have done our own, we are not in control of politics. If for some reason the Senate decide to recognise the majority bloc, the president recognises the majority bloc and government function is going on, then we receive an invitation from the speaker”.
“Our presence there means we have recognized one side of the bloc. So the best thing to do is to remain who we are. That was the rationale, many people don’t understand it, but that was the rationale of the court”.
