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On Oct. 18, 2024, about forty-seven members of the House of Representatives signed a resolution calling for Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa’s removal. They accused him of violating the House’s rules, alleged conflict of interest, and unilateral decision on behalf of the House.
However, the disenchanted lawmakers have failed to provide evidence to back up the several allegations they made against Speaker Koffa. The embattled speaker is not ready to succumb to pressure and bow out as former Speaker Edwin Snow did in 2009.
Mr Snow resigned following mounting pressure from the House of Representatives majority members. But history does not look like it is about to repeat itself.
The battle to remove Cllr. Fonati Koffa, the speaker of the 55th Legislature, continues, with both the speaker bloc and the disenchanted group of Lawmakers claiming the legitimacy of the speakership.
The anti-speaker bloc has since refused to sit under Speaker Koffa’s gavel, by convening a separate conference.
Speaker Koffa has, however, branded their action a violation of the law, reemphasising his commitment not to resign if the disenchanted lawmakers do not reach the constitutional 49 to remove him.
“We can face the Liberian people; our vision is clear. On this journey, we will stand on the side of the Liberian people and the rule of law,” Speaker Koffa said. “I don’t want to be here one day past 49 [signatures]. As soon as you get 49 signatures, I am out. But this nonsense, where a few groups of people, induced or not, come to destabilise the House and its leadership for personal aggrandisement, that bus stops here,” he stated.
Amidst the ongoing legislative stalemate over the speakership, President Joseph Boakai submitted the 2025 draft national budget to the Majority bloc through the chief clerk.
That singular decision by the president has deepened the fault lines even more, with some lawyers accusing the president of taking sides.
What does the constitution say about the removal of Speaker and Deputy Speaker?
Article 49 of the Liberian Constitution is quoted as saying,
“The House of Representatives shall elect once every six years a Speaker who shall be the presiding officer of that body, a Deputy Speaker, and such other officers shall ensure the proper functioning of the House. The speaker, the deputy speaker, and other officers so elected may be removed from office for cause by a resolution of two-thirds of the members of the House.
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber, with 73 lawmakers, while two-thirds comprise 49 members.
Article 43 also provides that:
The Legislature shall prescribe the procedure for impeachment proceedings, which shall be in conformity with the requirements of due process law.
What are the views of lawyers?
Veteran Liberian Lawyer and defeated Presidential candidate Cllr. Taiwan Gongloe criticised the action of the Majority Bloc, adding that it violates Liberia’s constitution.
The former Liberia National Bar Association President also frowned on the President’s action of submitting the draft budget to the majority bloc, accusing him of sponsoring the speaker’s removal.
“The President was ill-advised to give the budget to the Majority Bloc. Whoever advised him ignored the law. Politics that disregards the rule of law leads to chaos. It is in the President’s interest to follow the law because the same majority today could unlawfully attempt to impeach him,”
Speaking on the legislative fracas, an acclaimed lawyer, Atty. Worlea-Saywah Dunah had a different perspective on the matter.
According to him, the legislature is a parliamentary place where norms and practices precede legislative disputes.
“What is happening on Capitol Hill is merely a legislative dispute, and the legislators have solved it already. The majority felt and took a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, and he has become a former Speaker,” Dunah said.
He further explained that the Legislature operates as a parliamentary body where majority rule dictates leadership. “The iron rule in parliamentary bodies is when you lose the majority, you lose the leadership because you have been incapacitated; you cease to function,” he added.
The position of the Supreme Court
As the battle intensified, the embattled Speaker petitioned the Supreme Court of Liberia to address what he termed as unlawful conduct by opposition lawmakers.
The petition, filed on Thursday, is addressed to the full bench of the Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh.
Following his petition, the Supreme Court has since ordered the majority bloc to halt all further actions until the matter is resolved.
However, the Supreme Court is expected to hear the petition filed by Speaker Fonati Koffa.
Conclusion
The law provides that the speaker can be removed from office by a two-thirds majority of members of the House of Representatives, but the majority bloc has yet to act.
