Monrovia, Liberia – Gerald D. Yeakula, the program manager for the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), has called the Supreme Court’s April 23, 2025 ruling “final and binding” and urged President Joseph N. Boakai and all parties to abide by it immediately and without exception.
Speaking in Monrovia on Monday, April 28, 2025, Yeakula clarified that ongoing interaction with the group of legislators headed by Representative Richard Koon is a clear insult to the rule of law and the judiciary’s authority.
The CENTAL Program Manager also urged the Executive Branch of Government to uphold the Supreme Court’s ruling unless the Court declares otherwise.
“The Constitution and the decisions of the country’s highest court are the cornerstones of Liberia’s democracy’s legitimacy,” he said.
According to Yeakula, President Boakai’s public statements seemed hesitant to fully acknowledge Speaker Koffa’s leadership, even in light of the Court’s clear decision.
He added that the President’s comments set an unsafe example that might jeopardize Liberia’s democratic standards and constitutional government.
He maintained that there is no legal basis for any notion that the Executive must cooperate with the Koon bloc in order to maintain government operations.
“Any legislative actions taken under such circumstances are illegal because the Supreme Court made it clear that a quorum achieved without the duly elected Speaker presiding is invalid,” he stated.
The CENTAL Program Manager clarified that the Legislature’s inability to issue regulations requiring its members’ attendance a requirement imposed by the 1986 Constitution over forty years ago cannot be used as a justification for disregarding the Court’s ruling.
He emphasized that each legislator has an obligation to respect the Supreme Court and show up to sessions led by Speaker Koffa.
“Absent members cannot effectively remove the Speaker by boycotting legislative sessions,” he stated. “If they wish to challenge his leadership, they must do so through lawful procedures during properly constituted sessions,” he said.
Yeakula acknowledged the Koon bloc’s Petition for Re-Argument but maintained that the April 23 verdict is still the rule of the land until the Court reverses or amends its earlier finding.
“The filing of the Petition for Re-Argument is itself an acknowledgment of the Supreme Court’s authority,” he stated. “It demonstrates that the Koon bloc recognizes the binding nature of the Court’s decision, even if they seek to challenge it,” he said.
Yeakula clarified that any effort by the Executive to keep acknowledging or interacting with the Koon bloc as a valid entity puts Liberia’s already precarious democracy at peril of more constitutional crises.
However, he bemoaned the Supreme Court’s past tardiness in rendering a decision on Speaker Koffa’s Bill of Information, contending that the sluggish legal proceedings exacerbated and prolonged the parliamentary crisis.
