MONROVIA – The Monrovia City Court has ordered former House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and three other lawmakers to present their bond sureties by 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 24, or risk being rearrested. The warning was issued by Stipendiary Magistrate L. Ben Barco during a bond hearing on Monday, as legal tensions escalate over the sufficiency and legitimacy of the defendants’ US$440,000 property bond.
According to prosecutors, the sureties named in the bond, Jonda Janet Koffa and Marjan Mous Koffa, are non-existent, a claim they argue is part of a larger attempt by the defense to delay judicial proceedings. Prosecutors have called for the bond to be nullified unless it is properly justified or replaced. Defense lawyers pushed back, stating that the prosecution’s objections are now moot and have no bearing on the jurisdiction of the court. They urged the magistrate to dismiss the objections outright.
The hearing follows a ruling from Criminal Court “A” Judge Roosevelt Willie on Thursday, June 19, who declined jurisdiction over the matter, stating that issues concerning bond justification must first be resolved at the magisterial level. “This court cannot and will not hear a matter that is not properly before it,” Judge Willie ruled, directing Magistrate Barco to conduct a full hearing on the objections raised against the property bond.
The bond in question was filed on Monday, June 9, and forms part of a larger US$1.8 million criminal appearance bond secured earlier this month. It mandates the appearance of Koffa and his co-defendants, Montserrado County Representatives Thomas Fallah Seboe, Abu Kamara, and Dixon W. Debee, to face multiple felony charges. These include arson, criminal mischief, conspiracy, solicitation, intent to commit murder, aggravated assault, illegal possession of firearms, distribution of force, and theft of property. Should they be convicted, the bond also requires the defendants to surrender to authorities to serve any imposed sentence.
The case has gripped the country’s attention due to the serious nature of the charges and the high-profile individuals involved. The allegations stem from the December 18, 2024, fire that destroyed vital portions of the Capitol Building, including the joint chambers, legislative archives, and electoral infrastructure, causing an estimated US$8.6 million in damages.
Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman has characterized the blaze as a “deliberate and treasonous act” aimed at destabilizing Liberia’s democratic institutions. Investigators allege that the plan was hatched in November 2024, when Thomas Etheridge, the Capitol’s chief of maintenance at the time and an associate of Speaker Koffa, unlawfully accessed secured areas of the building. According to the police, surveillance systems were disabled and several offices were ransacked in a failed attempt on December 10.
Authorities say the final planning session took place on December 17 in the Jalatan community, where Representative Seboe allegedly distributed money to co-conspirators. All four lawmakers have since been placed under a Writ of Ne Exeat Republica, preventing them from leaving the country while legal proceedings are underway. The court has instructed all national security agencies to strictly enforce the restriction.
