Published: June 10, 2026
CAPITOL HILL, Monrovia — The House of Representatives has ordered an expedited investigation into Bong County District 3 Representative Marvin Cole, giving a committee 72 hours to report, after he publicly shamed absent colleagues, threatened to shut down the session, and drew a stinging rebuke from Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon.
“Don’t sit in the Speaker and Deputy Speaker seats to play. Go home and play if you want to play,” Koon told Cole during a heated floor debate on Tuesday.
The House voted the same day to direct its Committee on Rules, Order, and Administration to investigate and report to plenary within 72 hours, a timeline lawmakers said matched the seriousness of conduct several members called a threat to legislative decorum and institutional authority.
The clash grew out of a live media appearance Cole gave inside the Capitol, where he stood in a nearly empty chamber and attacked lawmakers’ chronic absences and lateness. “As you can see, the place is empty. Look at it. Empty chairs. Where are the lawmakers?” he said, calling the turnout at 12 minutes past 10 a.m. “horrific” and “very, very terrible.”
Cole argued that absenteeism should carry a financial penalty, saying that if members kept skipping work, “we’ll be sending a message to the Ministry of Finance and our Comptroller General to cut the salaries of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and all members of the leadership.” He maintained that the House’s own standing rules fix the start of session at 10 a.m.
He credited Koon for previously reminding members of the rules but turned the point against him. “For the Speaker to assert what he said to the public and make the public believe that colleagues are not coming to work, while the Speaker himself is not here, it baffles me,” Cole said. He then declared a grace period of his own. “Up to 10:30 is the grace period I’m giving them,” he said. “If the Speaker is not here by 10:30, it means the chambers will be shut and there will be no session today.”
The remarks set off fierce debate, with several lawmakers arguing that Cole had overstepped his authority and risked undermining the institution. It was during that exchange that Koon delivered his rebuke.
Plenary then invoked the House Standing Orders on ethics, discipline and parliamentary conduct, empowering the Rules Committee to use its quasi-judicial authority to summon witnesses, review evidence and hold hearings. The committee is to determine whether Cole breached House rules, ethical standards or parliamentary norms.
Lawmakers stressed that the accelerated timeline must still respect due process and a fair hearing for all sides. Some, however, warned that 72 hours may be too little for thorough fact-finding and could weaken the credibility of whatever the committee recommends.
The Cole inquiry is the latest in a string of disciplinary cases that have shaped recent legislative politics, following the expulsion of former Montserrado County District 10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah, investigations into Jacob Debee and Luther Collins, and the recent proceedings against Representative Samuel P. Jallah. The pattern is likely to sharpen public debate over whether the Legislature applies its disciplinary tools consistently, regardless of a member’s politics or standing.
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