Nearly two months after the Supreme Court’s opinion on the leadership crisis in the House of Representatives met with ambiguity and widespread controversy, a member of the High Court bench has restated the Court’s ruling leaving the Joseph Boakai administration’s governance activities in the balance.
Associate Justice Yarmie Quiqui Gbeisay declared that the actions taken by the so-called “majority bloc” to remove Speaker Fonati Koffa and suspend other members were illegal.
Speaking at the opening of the February term of court in Sanniquellie , Justice Gbeisay addressed the gathered lawyers and explained the rationale behind the absence of the Court at the January 2025 State of the Nation Address delivered by President Joseph Boakai at the Capitol.
The Justice emphasized the importance of having a lawful quorum presided over by an elected Speaker.
Justice Gbeisay: “We made a decision and the effect of that decision was that our law requires that the house should have a quorum and that quorum should be presided over by a speaker. Now that you the quote-on-quote majority bloc have a quorum, but we don’t see a speaker there, so whatever you do is ultra virus. In other words, it is illegal.”
“We turned to the minority bloc and say minority bloc, the law says until you can get majority to get quorum, you must continue to adjourn from day to day and compel the other people to join. But there is no statue that is telling us how you will compel the people. You don’t have a rule that is telling us how you will compel the people. So you too you will remain there.
Until you can get majority, whatever you do is ultra virus.
“So on the both sides, the Supreme Court was clearly saying go and solve your problems; we don’t have law to that effect.
“We have done our own, we are not in control of politics. If for some reason the Senate decide to recognize majority bloc, President Recognize majority bloc and government function is going on, then we received invitation from the speaker, our presence there means we have recognized one side of the bloc. So the best thing to do is to remain who we are. That was the rationale, many people don’t understand it, but that was the rationale of the Court”.
The Justice’s remarks highlight the Supreme Court’s stance that it is not in control of the political dynamics affecting the House.
This definitive restatement of the Supreme Court’s ruling raises pressing concerns over the current state of governance and rule of law in Liberia. The status of Speaker Koffa remains tenuous, as he faces political harassment, and law enforcement agencies seem to be utilized against him and his supporters.
Meanwhile, President Boakai and his cabinet have ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, supporting Unity Party lawmaker Richard Koon as the new Speaker.
The legality of legislation enacted under the authority of the illegitimate Speaker of the House of Representatives, including the national budget, now hangs perilously in the balance. The implications of the Supreme Court’s clarity on this leadership dispute are expected to reverberate throughout Liberia’s political and legal systems in the days ahead.
