Majority lawmakers from the House of Representatives have reached the peak of their desperation for power by violently breaking into the offices of embattled Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, who they had illegally removed to forcibly occupy the premises.
The majority bloc, backed by the Executive, took action without a warrant from the court, demonstrating their utter disregard for the rule of law and respect for the Constitution of Liberia, though they are supposed to be lawmakers.
Unfortunately, their action displayed on Monday clearly contradicted their professed responsibility as lawmakers. The sheer hooliganism and uncivilized behavior have gone down in history as an infamous act.
The House chair on rules, order, and administration appointed by the Majority bloc, Representative James Kolleh, argued that the action was necessary following several written communications sent to embattled Speaker Koffa to turn over the office failed. However, what he did not say is whether to have taken armed police officers to burst open the embattled Speaker’s office without a court warrant was within confines of the law.
Despite the Supreme Court of Liberia’s recent opinion that actions by both parties in the leadership battle at the House of Representatives were “ultra vires,” majority lawmakers are so desperate to have their way by ensuring that their elected Speaker, Richard Nagbe Koon, occupies the office, outside the law.
And this why embattled Speaker Koffa said recently that they may use the same illegal means to evict him from the office like they did by electing a new speaker while he stills remains the legitimate Speaker of the 55th Legislature of Liberia.
These illegal actions have left many Liberians wondering whether Liberia is still a country of law or a country of men who are obsessed with green and power with a focus on their personal interests rather than the interests of the people they represent.
We wonder whether members of the majority bloc don’t have eyes to see that their actions have caused the full bench of Supreme Court of Liberia to distance itself from their activities. Do they care what message the Judiciary sends to the public by keeping a distance from what’s happening in the House?
The greed for power seems to have made our national leaders willfully send wrong signals for generations by believing that circumventing the laws of the land to achieve selfish desires is the prudent way to lead.
No matter what they might have achieved by flagrantly violating the Constitution to have their way, the truth is what is not legally done is not done at all.
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