Liberia: Cllr. Sherman Warns Supreme Court’s Against Meddling in House’s Crisis

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In a pointed statement, Cllr. Varney Sherman, on Wednesday, November 27, issued a warning to the Supreme Court, emphasizing that the Court should avoid meddling in the political decisions that led to the removal of Cllr. Fonati Koffa, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Sherman, a former Senator for Grand Cape Mount County, stressed that the issue at hand is political in nature and should be handled as such.

“Don’t interfere with the decision of the majority bloc of the Legislature, because this is a matter that is political in nature,” Sherman, warned.

Sherman’s caution comes as the Full Bench of the Supreme Court, on yesterday listened attentively to Speaker Koffa’s contention that his removal as carried out by certain members of the House bypassed the proper legal procedures and was not done in accordance with the constitutional provisions that govern the removal of officials.

Koffa’s legal team however argued that the Court has the authority to review the constitutionality of the actions of the House of Representatives. “Article 2 of the Constitution affirms that the Constitution is the supreme law, and actions contrary to it must be declared unconstitutional.”

Additionally, Article 66 grants the judiciary the final authority in constitutional matters, which extends to cases such as this, the Koffa team argued.

In counterargument, Sherman cautioned the court, “Leave this political fight with the lawmakers, because they will not agree to reinstate the speaker, even, if you were to mandate them to do so. Are you going to compel them to reinstate the speaker?” Sherman asked.

“If they refuse your decision to reinstate the speaker, would you arrest them or jail them to compel them to reinstate Koffa?”

According to Sherman, Koffa has been removed and the court cannot enforce him to be Speaker.

“The lawmakers have the power under the Constitution to remove the Speaker and they did,” Sherman argued.

However, Koffa’s team prayed the court to rule, declaring the actions of the majority block in the House of Representatives as unconstitutional.

“These actions violate fundamental constitutional principles, and it is essential for the Court to uphold the rule of law and the integrity of Liberia’s legislative process,” they claim.

On November 21, the Majority Bloc controversially elected Representative Richard Koon as their new Speaker, declaring the Speaker’s position vacant and passing a resolution, purportedly signed by 50 lawmakers.