By Festus Poquie
House Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa is perhaps facing one of the most difficult moments in his political career as some influential political actors he once crossed path joined forces to topple his reign.
Koffa has played critical role in Liberia’s post conflict institutional building, democratic governance and war crimes accountability.
In those roles, the 61-year-old career lawyer may have stepped toes knowingly or unknowingly, growing a reservoir of enemies who are now aggressively collaborating to log him in history as one of the shortest serving Speaker of the House of Representatives on the West Coast of Africa.
Below, the Oracle News Daily catalogues policies and decisions the Speaker initiated, executed and associated with that are seemingly plotting his downfall.
War Crimes Court
In February this year, Koffa meticulously led a mission that for decades has been deemed a matter of impossibility. House members in a milestone vote approved the creation of an extraordinary tribunal that will hear war and economic crimes cases committed and documented at various stages of the country’s brutal civil wars.
It was the first decisive stance taken by the legislature since the end of one of Africa’s boldest wars two decades ago that killed more than a quarter million of people. The lawmakers gave the President the right to proceed with the establishment of the court without legal interference or input from the body going forward. They also committed the country’s resources to fund a process that will address war crimes accountability.
The court will be looking at alleged crimes committed between 1979 and 2003. The House’s resolution however empowers prosecutors to extend probe beyond the limits of the erstwhile truth commission.
Implications
Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, the notorious warlord of the 1990s is amongst several individuals named in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report who should face prosecution for atrocious role played during the conflict. He is an unhappy man to witness the near establishment of the war crimes tribunal. Johnson was infamously filmed ordering his men to cut off the ears of Dictator Samuel Doe.
Vice President Jeremiah Koung is PYJ’s political next of kin. Johnson has since coroneted Koung as leader of his Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction party to play the game in accordance with his written script. All Members of his party and associates in the House of Representatives are opposed to Koffa’s Leadership.
House Reform
Koffa is rolling out series of reforms in the House of Representatives purpose on instilling the culture of transparency and accountability that would give the House the appearance of an integrity institution anchoring the nation’s democracy.
The House is probably the only public institution not audited since the return of democratic governance in 2006. The organization is thus ripe for scrutiny that could uncover shady financial practices.
Implications
A powerful coalition of lawmakers is now spending nearly $2 million to remove Speaker Fondati Koffa from his position in the House of Representatives.
This select group, often referred to as the “House Cabal,” includes influential politicians such as Vice President Jeremiah Koung and several ranking senators who have long controlled the national budgeting process earning fortunes.
As Koffa spearheads an anti-corruption and transparency agenda, aiming for sweeping financial reforms, the cabal sees this move as a direct threat to its lucrative influence over appropriations.
Their dominance in the budgeting arena has reportedly earned its members millions over the past decade, and they fear that an impending financial audit could expose potential illegal dealings, endangering their financial stronghold and political ambitions.
The Vice President, who has political aspirations for the presidential race in 2029, stands to lose significantly if any wrongdoing is unearthed.
Since his entry into the House of Representatives in 2012, Koung has been a key figure in various committees, aligning with powerful allies, including ex-House members and now Senators Emmanuel Nuquay, Alex Tyler and Prince Moyes.
The Special Prosecutor Role
In 2016, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appointed Koffa as Minister of State without Portfolio and Special Prosecutor of the Sable Mining Bribery scandal case.
Implications
A Global Witness exposé had uncovered over US$950,000 in bribes and other suspicious payments by UK mining firm Sable Mining and its Liberian lawyer, Varney Sherman.
Responding to Global Witness’ findings, the government pledged to investigate and hold those culpable to account. Koffa, as Special Prosecutor, lead the task.
The report, The Deceivers (1), shows how in 2010 Sable hired Varney Sherman, then Liberia’s best-connected lawyer and Chairman of the Unity Party, in an effort to secure one of Liberia’s last large mining assets, the Wologizi iron ore concession in northern Liberia.
Sherman reportedly told Sable that in order to obtain the contract the company must first get Liberia’s concessions law changed by bribing senior officials, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
A grand jury indicted senior Liberian government officials including then Speaker Alex Tyler and Sherman who later became Senator in connection with the alleged bribery scandal. The trial concluded and all accused persons were acquitted. Sherman was later sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury for bribery and other acts of corruption.
Timeline of Sable Mining’s bribes and questionable payments in Liberia
15 April 2010: $500,000 in two equal payments marked “Bigboy 01” and “Bigboy 02”.
22 April 2010: $200,000 for the convention of the ruling Unity Party, paid out to Sable’s lawyer Varney Sherman. Sherman was elected chairman of the party at the convention unopposed after his opponents “were persuaded to back off”, according to a local newspaper.
23 April 2010: $50,000 for Richard Tolbert, Chairman of Liberia’s National Investment Commission and one of the most important decision-makers in Liberia’s tendering process for mining rights. Tolbert denied taking bribes from Sable.
26 April 2010: $50,000 for Morris Saytumah, Minister of State for Finance, Economic and Legal Affairs, attached to the presidency. In March 2011 Saytumah, after he left office, wrote a letter for Sable—backdated to April 2009—saying that “the Government will assist the Delta Mining in its bid for any iron ore reserve that it may be interested in and has the technical and financial capacity to operate”.
28 April 2010: $10,000, labelled as “Sherman’s contribution to IE Sports Association”, with the funds coming out of Sable’s account. This was a reference to the Invincible Eleven soccer team and associated teams, of which Richard Tolbert was president.
5 May 2010: $10,000 labelled as “Heine’s contribution to IE Sports Association”, headed by Tolbert (see above). Heine van Niekerk was chief executive of Sable’s Liberian affiliate.
24 June 2010: $10,000 paid to Willie Belleh, chairman of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission, who held a key position in the tender process for mineral concessions and helped review the procurement act. Belleh denied receiving any payment.
24 June 2010: $25,000 labelled as “Political contribution – UP Secretary General resignation”. Henry Fahnbulleh, recently elected Secretary General of the ruling Unity Party, resigned under pressure from Varney Sherman the day after the payment was made.
29 July 2010: $5,000 for Lofa County Senator Sumo Kupee.
29 July 2010: $5,000 for Cletus Wotorson, at the time the Speaker of the Senate. Kupee and Wotorson’s payments are listed in internal company records. Kupee and Wotorson denied receiving any payments.
23 August 2010: $4,500 labelled “accommodation ECB Jones and C Onanuga”. Ernest CB Jones was deputy mining minister, while Chris Onanuga was Delta’s long-standing fixer before and after its purchase by Sable.
25 August 2010: $75,000 for Alex Tyler, Speaker of the lower house of Liberia’s parliament at the time.
12 May 2011: Sable made a purchase worth $1,070.87 at Twin Bore Agencies, a Johannesburg gun shop, for the Liberian President’s son, Fombah Sirleaf. It is unclear what was purchased. Sirleaf is head of Liberia’s National Security Agency.
13 June 2011: $6,532 to take Fombah Sirleaf on an all-expenses-paid hunting trip in South Africa.
2 August 2011: $5,000 to Eugene Shannon, a former mining minister who lobbied a cabinet minister Morris Saytumah to write his backdated letter backing Sable’s claim to Wologizi. Shannon denied receiving any money from Sable.
August 2011 to Jan 2012: $1,565.28 on a telephone and bills for Fombah Sirleaf. Total: $958,668
