Liberia: House Majority Bloc Convenes ‘Session’ In Joint Chambers Amid Supreme Court’s Stay Order on All Proceedings
MONROVIA – In defiance to the Supreme Court’s directive which ordered all actions of the majority bloc regarding the leadership dispute in the House of Representatives to be suspended pending the outcome of a conference early next month, the majority bloc Tuesday held “session”, insisting they won’t honor the writ of prohibition by Justice in Chambers Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay.
By Selma Lomax selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com & Edwin Genoway, edwin.genoway@frontpageafricaonline.com
Representative Samuel Kogar of Nimba’s fifth district and leader of the majority bloc told his colleagues in “session” Tuesday that the court cannot tell the House of Representatives what to do as it relates to its leadership. “We will continue to go hold our “session” and no one can’t stop us,” he said.
However, a member of the Koffa bloc, Representative Yekeh Kolubah, in an interview with legislative reporters, said that if the Majority bloc fails to secure the 49 votes required to oust Koffa, they, too, will continue to hold separate session, a move he believes would strangulate the government.
“We didn’t have the quorum today because we didn’t have the required numbers, just as the so-called majority bloc. We will continue like this until it reaches a point where the Executive will be compelled to do business with us because we have a legitimate Speaker,” he said.
This Supreme Court’s intervention follows a petition by the embattled House Speaker Fonati Koffa, who has been accused of corruption and ineffective leadership.
Since then, the House of Representatives has been enmeshed in turbulence, with Speaker Koffa’s authority challenged. On October 24, 2024, Koffa attempted to solidify his position by filing a writ of prohibition with the Supreme Court to prevent the Anti-Koffa bloc from conducting separate sessions, which he deemed illegal.
This defiance by the majority bloc raises a looming constitutional crisis, as the judiciary and legislature clash over their respective powers and authorities. As tension heightens between the judiciary and the legislature over exerting their respective powers, Liberians have been divided over which branch of government has the legitimate power to enforce its constitutional power.
While the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to be the final arbiter of justice and the highest Court to entertain and interpret constitutional matters, there is a huge missing link between how the Supreme Court interprets constitutional matters when it comes to the internal events at the National Legislature.
However, some renowned lawyers, speaking on condition anonymity, have defended the Supreme Court’s directive. One lawyer told FrontPageAfrica, “any case involving the Constitution where the Executive or Legislature are involved, the Supreme Court, the highest court, universally has jurisdiction over that case – I mean in common law jurisdictions.”
He added, “the Supreme Court on its own (sua sponte) cited those lawmakers to hear the dispute between them and Koffa, then the Court would be interfering in legislative affairs. If it was Koffa who sought the Court’s intervention, the Court has the obligation to first determine whether or not it has jurisdiction over the case – this is done by hearing both parties in Court during pre-trial hearing before determining whether or not to hear the merits/facts of the case/dispute.”
Another lawyer told FrontPageAfrica, “Besides one’s constitutional rights to be heard, it’s his/her God-giving right to be heard by the court of law when he/she believes his/her right or the law/Constitution in which he/she has an interest is being violated, as in the case of Speaker Koffa.”
“Audi alterm_ _partem_ is a Latin doctrine in natural law which means “Let the parties be heard”. Therefore, let both Koffa and the lawmakers be heard for the Court to decide whether or not it has jurisdiction to hear the merits of the case.”
You cannot legally put a stop to plenary’s functions. Article 33 states that a simple majority shall form a quorum. We have formed a quorum. We are in session. It is because of that the Senate is still open. The Senate is still open because there is a majority in the Lower House doing the Liberian people’s business. And an attempt to shutdown plenary means you need to put a stay order on the Senate. And that means you are shutting down the Legislature. Legally, it undermines the Constitution and I believe the Justice-in-Chamber knows the law.
Rep. Foday Fahnbulleh, District #7, Bong County and member, House Majority bloc
However, another lawyer told FrontPageAfrica, “if the Supreme Court makes any adverse decision against the lawmakers, they can use their lawmaking power by enacting a law to override the Supreme Court’s decision. That legislative act now becomes the law, which enacted law can also be challenged and overturned by the Supreme Court for being in violation of the Constitution. This can go on-and-on between the Supreme Court and the Legislature. This is democracy and this is how our jurisprudence develops.”
Sympathy without recognition
As the political tensions escalate, the majority bloc has also issued a statement of sympathy regarding the recent passing of Mrs. Helen Juah Senyon Howard, Chief of Staff for Speaker Koffa. However, notable for its implications, the statement referred to Speaker Koffa merely as “Hon. Koffa,” intentionally omitting the title “Speaker.”
This act underscored the ongoing fracture between Speaker Koffa and the majority members and may symbolize a strategic effort to delegitimize his authority amidst calls for his removal.
At the same time, some political analysts interpret this move as indicative of a broader strategy to undermine Speaker Koffa’s standing within the House, raising concerns about the implications for governance and accountability.
Meanwhile, political analysts believe that as the political landscape shifts, the standoff between the Majority Bloc and Koffa is poised to have lasting effects on the integrity of the House of Representatives and its ability to fulfill its obligations to the Liberian people.
They asserted that in a country like Liberia where political stability is a priority, the coming weeks will be crucial in determining the future of Speaker Koffa and the direction of legislative leadership in Liberia.
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