Monrovia, Liberia – Supreme Court Associate Justice Yormie Gbeisay’s justification for the Bench’s absence from President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s State of the Nation Address has been criticized by Bong County Representative Foday Fahnbulleh, who called it a “liquor statement.”
Addressing his colleagues at parliamentary sitting on Thursday, the Bong County Representative said; “we will not consider any of the Associate Justice’s liquor statements to be relevant. We will not give any relevance to anyone who makes a liquor statement in a cane juice shop,” sending the plenary in a state of disarray.
Bong County Representative Foday Fahnbulleh speaking on thursday.
Representative Foday Fahnbulleh remarks followed Justice Gbeisay’s explanation from the court’s first session in Nimba earlier this week. Associate Justice Gbeisay stated that the Supreme Court’s position on the ongoing leadership conflict in the House of Representatives was the reason it declined to attend the President’s SONA.
He claimed that attending the ceremony would have given Representative Richard Koon’s speakership credibility, a stance that the Supreme Court had already declared to be “ultra vires.”
According to Justice Gbeisay, the House’s so-called majority and minority group had not fulfilled the legal requirements to engage in formal legislative work. In order to avoid what he described as a “illegitimate” process under an illegitimate Speaker, the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh, purposefully avoided attending the State of the Nation Address.
In an attempt to explain the Bench’s ruling, Justice Gbeisay stated that the legislation requires the House to have a quorum led by a recognized Speaker prior to starting business. He pointed out that no legal provision specifies how to enforce such coercion, even if the minority group might meet every day and try to get the majority to join them.
“The Supreme Court does not want to be dragged into political disputes,” the Associate Justice added. Politics is not within our control. The president and the Senate may both acknowledge the majority group, and government operations may continue, however, the judiciary maintains its neutrality during this period.”
With Speaker Koffa reiterating his stance, the House problem is still unsolved. Koffa reiterated that he would never accept Koon’s leadership when he returned to Liberia over the weekend via Roberts International Airport.
Since October 2024, the House of Representatives has been embroiled in internal strife over its leadership. Representative Fonati J. Koffa of Grand Kru County District #2 defeated his primary opponent, Richard Koon of the governing Unity Party, to win the Speakership in January 2024. Within his own political group, Koffa, a member of the opposition CDC, encountered strong opposition last October.
In a decision that failed to specifically proclaim a legitimate leader, the Supreme Court which was supposed to break the deadlock on how he was to be removed from office ruled that the ongoing legislative proceedings were unlawful. Due to conflicting interpretations, such ambiguous decision simply made the situation worse.
