Monrovia – Former President George Weah has criticized Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah’s alignment with a faction of lawmakers pushing to oust Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, describing it as “sabotage” of their political party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). Weah stated that Fallah’s actions have crossed a line, making it impossible for him to return to the party.
Both Fallah and Koffa are members of the former ruling CDC. Despite denying any role in the plot to remove Koffa, Fallah joined a group of dissenting lawmakers last Thursday who have been holding separate sessions within the joint chambers of the Legislature.
With a majority of 43 lawmakers, the anti-Koffa faction invited Fallah to preside over their session, threatening him with forfeiture of his post should he fail to comply. Fallah surprisingly yielded, abandoning Koffa to join the renegade group. Weah condemned Fallah’s decision, stating, “Fallah has reached a point where he knows he made an error – he’s a saboteur. He can’t come back; he doesn’t have the face to come back. He doesn’t even understand what he’s doing.”
Weah, the CDC’s political leader, recommended that Fallah be suspended while the party’s grievance and ethics committee conducts a thorough investigation, which could lead to his expulsion. Weah distanced himself from the plot, emphasizing his loyalty to the Speaker, whom he described as “like a brother.”
“If anybody wants to sabotage him, it would not be George Weah… I have no desire to remove him from his position,” Weah asserted. He revealed that he had advised Fallah to avoid any involvement in the situation before tensions escalated. “Before this ‘yo-yo’ started, I called Fallah and advised him to desist, but Fallah claimed he was hated by me. The reality has now shown otherwise.”
Weah made the comments on Tuesday evening during an interview with King’s FM Abraham Wheon.
Though the CDC lost the November 14, 2023, runoff election to the Unity Party, it retained a majority in the House of Representatives, holding 25 of the 73 seats. Despite this advantage, Speaker Koffa has struggled to maintain quorum, as 10 CDC members have joined the anti-Koffa group, with Fallah’s defection bringing the number to 11.
Rumors of Fallah’s involvement in a “coup” against Koffa circulated early in the crisis, though he initially denied the accusations. His denial was supported by Koffa. However, after presiding over the anti-Koffa bloc’s session, Fallah took to Facebook, claiming that his actions were not a betrayal but a commitment to “safeguarding the wholesome functioning of the legislature.”
“These colleagues represent the majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives, and they simply cannot be ignored. My decision to join the call for resolving this deadlock is not a repudiation of my support for Speaker Koffa or the CDC. It is instead a demonstration of my unwavering commitment to our democracy, which must transcend any one individual or faction,” Fallah wrote.
The Deputy Speaker further explained that he consulted extensively before making his decision, adding, “In my 19 years with the CDC, I have NEVER ‘betrayed’ my party, and I do not intend to do so, ever.”
Meanwhile, the anti-Koffa bloc, under Fallah’s leadership, issued a mandate to the Secretariat on Tuesday, instructing it to formally notify the Senate, Executive, and Judiciary branches to cease conducting business with Speaker Koffa and his allies. This directive, introduced by Grand Gedeh County District #1 Representative Jeremiah Sokan, urged government institutions to engage with their faction, which claims to represent the majority in the House.
During the session, anti-Koffa lawmakers also issued a warning to the pro-Koffa faction, urging them to attend their sessions or face consequences under House Rule 21.
While the group has yet to initiate formal impeachment proceedings against Koffa, they continue to pressure him to resign. Koffa, however, maintains that he will not step down and has urged his colleagues to follow constitutional procedures. He described the allegations against him, including accusations of conflict of interest, budget mismanagement, and unauthorized alterations to House structures, as baseless and poorly researched.
Koffa has called for due process, citing Article 49 of the Liberian Constitution, which requires that any removal of a House Speaker must be based on due process, a two-thirds majority vote, and a fair hearing. To date, the anti-Koffa bloc has not demonstrated that they have secured the necessary two-thirds majority to begin impeachment proceedings.
In a recent conference with Associate Justice Yormie Gbeisay, the anti-Koffa faction admitted they had not provided Koffa with due process. They informed journalists that they intended to initiate impeachment proceedings in accordance with legal procedures on Tuesday, though their actions on Tuesday contradicted this claim.
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