Monrovia, Liberia – The violent attack on Representative Yekeh Kolubah of Montserrado County District #10 duringthe Tuesday’s House of Representatives session has been sharply condemned by the Rule of Law Caucus. The Caucus characterized the episode as a serious attack on the rule of law and a flagrant breach of Liberia’s democratic values in a strongly news release.
“Today’s House of Representatives session marks a dangerous turning point in our democratic journey due to the unprecedented attack on Hon. Kolubah. It is an insult to our democratic system’s fundamental principles as well as to an individual,” the statement said.
Fearing reprisals if they did not attend, members of the Rule of Law Caucus chose to attend sessions under Majority Bloc Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon, giving the political impasse in the House of Representatives a new dimension. But instead of promoting togetherness as the people had intended, their presence is making divides worse.
Tensions have increased since Koung is still not recognized as the real Speaker by the majority of the Rule of Law Caucus members. Following Rep. Yekeh Kolubah’s refusal to accept Speaker Koon’s authority, Koon gave the House Sergeant-at-Arms and doormen orders to remove him from the chamber on Tuesday.
“The Speaker is not Richard Koon. Kolubah said, I only recognize Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah,” which angered Koon’s supporters in the house.
Koon’s supporters, including Representative Prince Toles of Montserrado District #8, criticized Kolubah for disturbing the meeting and openly disrespecting the Majority Bloc leadership.
Speaker Koon ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove Kolubah from the chamber, citing his behavior as inappropriate. Kolubah struggled for a short while, and when he repeated his denial of Koon’s authority, a group of doormen forced him out of the session.
Koon is desperate, Kolubah told reporters outside the session, remaining defiant. “I will never acknowledge him as the Speaker because he is not. The only valid Speaker of the House, in my opinion, is Fonati Koffa.”
Kolubah continued by accusing the Boakai government of the planning of what he called “an illegal leadership structure” within the assembly. Koon’s election, he contended, was undemocratic and a sign of the administration’s purported desire to maintain power.
