Liberia-Liberia’s former President and political leader of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) has expressed anger and disappointment in the actions of Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah who is an Executive Members of the party to be part of a plan to oust Speaker J. Fonati Koffa who is also an Executive Member of the CDC.
Weah at the same time, criticized Deputy Speaker Fallah’s alignment with a faction of lawmakers pushing to oust Speaker Koffa, describing it as “sabotage” of their political party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
Former President Weah in a recent interview noted that the Deputy Speaker’s actions have crossed a line, making it impossible for him to return to the party. Fallah and Koffa are members of the former ruling CDC. Despite denying any role in the plot to remove Koffa, Fallah joined a group of dissenting lawmakers last Thursday who have been holding separate sessions in the joint chamber of the Legislature.
With a majority of 43 lawmakers, the anti-Koffa faction invited Fallah to preside over their session, threatening him with forfeiture of his post should he fail to comply. Fallah surprisingly yielded, abandoning Koffa to join the renegade group.
But the political leader of the CDC has condemned Fallah’s decision, stressing that Fallah has reached a point where he knows he made an error, describing him as a saboteur. Weah added, “He (Fallah) can’t come back; he doesn’t have the face to come back. He doesn’t even understand what he’s doing.”
He recommended that Deputy Speaker sFallah be suspended while the party’s grievance and ethics committee conduct a thorough investigation which could lead to his expulsion. The former President at the same time, distanced himself from any plot to unseat Speaker Koffa, emphasizing his loyalty to the Speaker, whom he described as, “like a brother.”
“If anybody wants to sabotage him, it would not be George Weah. I have no desire to remove him from his position,” Weah asserted. Weah disclosed that he had advised Fallah to avoid any involvement in the situation before tensions escalated. “Before this ‘yo-yo’ started, I called Fallah and advised him to desist, but Fallah claimed he was hated by me. The reality has now shown otherwise.”
Despite CDC having an advantage of 25 Representatives in the House, Speaker Koffa has struggled to maintain quorum, as 10 CDC lawmakers have joined the anti-Koffa group, with Fallah’s defection bringing the number to 11.
Rumors of Fallah’s involvement in a “coup” against Koffa circulated early in the crisis, though he initially denied the accusations. His denial was supported by Koffa. However, after presiding over the anti-Koffa bloc’s session, Fallah took to Facebook, claiming that his actions were not a betrayal but a commitment to “safeguarding the wholesome functioning of the Legislature.”
Meanwhile, the anti-Koffa bloc, under Fallah’s leadership, issued a mandate to the Secretariat on Tuesday, instructing it to formally notify the Senate, Executive, and Judiciary branches to cease conducting business with Speaker Koffa and his allies.
During the session, anti-Koffa lawmakers also issued a warning to the pro-Koffa faction, urging them to attend their sessions or face consequences under House Rule 21.
While the group has yet to initiate formal impeachment proceedings against Koffa, they continue to pressure him to resign. Koffa, however, maintains that he will not step down and has urged his colleagues to follow constitutional procedures. He described the allegations against him, including accusations of conflict of interest, budget mismanagement, and unauthorized alterations to House structures, as baseless and poorly researched.
Koffa has called for due process, citing Article 49 of the Liberian Constitution, which requires that any removal of a House Speaker must be based on due process, a two-thirds majority vote, and a fair hearing. To date, the anti-Koffa bloc has not demonstrated that they have secured the necessary two-thirds majority to begin impeachment proceedings.
