At least about 47 lawmakers are said to have received US15k each in advance bribe payment against US25k promised in bribe money to remove House Speaker Fonati Koffa in what has been described as a plot removal on Capitol Hill.
By Bridgett Milton
Monrovia, October 18, 2024: Several lawmakers here have received bribe money amounting to over US 1.1 million to oust House Speaker Fonati Koffa, who is currently out of the country.
Among those who allegedly received the bribe money include Rep. Samson Q. Wiah, Rep. Alexander Poure, Rep. Johnson J.N. Williams, Rep. Nejker E. Gaye, Rep. Isaac B. C. Wou, Rep. Samuel N. Browne, and Rep. Bintu Massalay.
Others are Rep. Emmanuel Yarh, Rep. Mohammed Dosi, Rep. Nyahn G. Flomo, Rep. Sam P. Jallah, and Rep. Anthony F. Williams, just to name a few.
Bribery is a crime under Liberian law and is a corrupt practice that undermines democracy-something which has seen many officials here place sanctions and US travel bans.
Fingers have been pointed at the Executive Branch of Government for trying to undermine Speak Koffa at the House, a claim the Executive Branch has rejected.
The attempt to remove Speaker Koffa erupted in chaos at the House of Representatives on Thursday, October 17, 2024, as lawmakers who had received the bribe money stormed the Capitol, meeting resistance from other lawmakers opposed to their plot.
This led to heated exchanges among lawmakers, creating pandemonium on the Capitol grounds, with some lawmakers from opposing sides nearly engaging in fistfights.
The uproar started while Koffa is still out of the country. It all started when the Chairman on Rules, Orders, and Administration, Representative J. Marvin Cole, locked the doors to the chambers of the House of Representatives, preventing Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah from entering.
Rep. Cole commenced conducting the session for the day while Fallah could not make his way into the chambers.
Rep. Cole insisted that Deputy Speaker Fallah would not preside over the session, accusing the latter of allegedly being a criminal.
Cole also alleged that Fallah had spoiled the safety and integrity of his colleagues.
It prompted a tense standoff between both lawmakers, leading Rep. Cole to threaten that Fallah would not like his action if he made any attempt to enter the Chambers.
Tension increased as the anti-Koffa group of lawmakers who had received bribe money gathered in the joint chambers to conduct a session and read their resolution listing their charges against the House Speaker for which they want him removed.
Some lawmakers and journalists were also locked up in the joint chambers, causing some anti-Koffa lawmakers to break down a door there.
A fight broke out between anti-Koffa and pro-Koffa supporters, prompting lawmakers and journalists to run for their safety.
Later, the anti-Koffa group gathered on the grounds of the Capitol to read their several-count resolution.
According to the anti-Koffa group, article 49 of the Liberian Constitution and Rule 9.1 of the Rules and Procedures of the House of Representatives call for the removal of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and other officers so elected for cause.
The provisions call for the removal by a resolution of two-thirds majority of the members of the House.
The group claimed that it had found causes for the removal of Cllr Koffa as Speaker of the House of Representatives, based on Article 49 of the Liberian Constitution and Rule 9.1 of the Rules and Procedures of the House of Representatives.
Nimba County District #2 Representative Nya Flomo accused Speaker Koffa of being significantly conflicted with interest.
He alleged that this is impeding the smooth functions of various committees. The Nimba lawmaker accused Koffa of being the lead consultant and lawyer for several government agencies, Concessions, and other private companies in the country.
“The Speaker single-handedly selected Liberia’s Representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament and lied under oath that he conducted an election,” Rep. Flomo alleged.
According to him, on February 7, 2024, without the conduct of an election, the Speaker submitted a list of Liberia’s Members of the House of Representatives to the 6th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament to Dr. Sidie Mohammed, the Right Honorable Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Meanwhile, the anti-Koffa group has issued a vote of no confidence in Speaker Koffa as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The resolution’s reading by the majority block outside the chambers does not fully satisfy the formal removal of the Speaker.
According to the procedure, the entire process must occur during an official session, where the resolution is read.
The resolution must be included on the session agenda. It should be read within the session, and a vote should be taken to determine the removal of the speaker. To be continued. Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
