MONROVIA – Suspicions that House Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa’s woes, expressed in rebellion against him by his colleagues, was being prosecuted not just by “tiny” Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) representatives but also by ranking partisans as masterminds have come naked in broad day light. The vicegerent, partisan and confidant of the embattled speaker, Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah, has proven political prophets right as he jerked his hand of support from the arm of his boss, taking flight to the camp of conspirators needing Koffa’s head. As The Analyst reports, the CDC top executive member put up the valiant face of Judas Iscariot, having kissed Koffa goodbye in the early hours of Thursday, October 31, 2024, before he was seen walking majestically into the joint chambers of the Legislature where the gavel of presider amid cheers of mutinous counterparts.
Lofa County Representative Thomas Fallah, who is also the Deputy Speaker for the “People’s Deputies”, on Thursday, October 31, 2024, walked into the joint chambers of the 55th National Legislature in kingly style and took delivery of the gavel of leadership for 43 members of the House of Representatives who in the last three to four weeks have been causing national stir with boycott of normal legislative sessions in demand for the ouster of House Speaker Jonathan Koffa.
Before making the move, which many pundits consider the biggest catch by the rebellious lawmakers, suspicions had heightened that the CDC-powered Deputy Speaker was a chief mastermind of the plot to dethrone Speaker Koffa, his boss.
Though invariably booed and besmirched by ordinary partisans of the CDC who maintained Fallah was playing Judas in the Koffa saga, he and his supporters concurrently put up denials, while he borrowed from Julius Ceasar’s Brutus, Casca and Cina and Cassius, pinning himself closely on his boss finding the most appropriate moment to unleash the dagger.
And the moment came yesterday though not before he took a kiss from his master like Judas, and leaving a confession note filled with rhetorical lyrics.
“My fellow Liberians,” he began his pronouncement. “As Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and a proud member of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), I am deeply committed to upholding both my party’s principles and the trust of the Liberian people. My role in the House of Representatives has always been one of loyalty to our shared values and resolute support for Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, who has long dedicated himself to working for Liberia.”
He observed that the recent challenges facing the “people’s House” were serious and must not be shrugged off and that lawmakers’ inability to convene regular sessions as one body was threatening the democratic foundation upon which this nation is built.
“So, as the elected Lawmaker of Electoral District #1 (Foya Statutory District), Lofa County, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 55th Legislature, I consider it my duty, first and foremost, to safeguard that foundation by ensuring a transparent, effective and wholesome functioning Legislature,” he continued and confessed. “Therefore, I have decided to join my colleagues who have raised some grievances against Speaker Koffa, for which this Honorable body is being brought to disrepute.”
Fallah claimed that the mutineers, his colleagues in the struggle to remove Koffa from the speakership of the House, “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,” he further said, adding: “My interest here, therefore, is to ensure that I have the opportunity of listening to the concerns of my colleagues. This, to me, is the only way we can find an amicable solution to this matter, that would satisfy all sides.”
He continued: “Although I currently find myself in a miasma of legal and political conundrum on Capitol Hill, I wish to assure all Liberians and members of the CDC in particular that I have consulted sufficiently across all sides, and I have taken a decision in the best interest of our country, as well as our party. In my nineteen years of membership with the CDC (since I joined in 2005), I have NEVER ‘betrayed’ my party, and I do not intend to do so, ever.”
The Lofa County Lawmaker also clarified “unequivocally” that he played no part in organizing lawmakers calling for Speaker Koffa’s removal but that his “decision to listen to them at this stage is in respect of our Rules and Procedures, and the Liberian Constitution”.
Though he did not quote the specific House rules and provisions of the Constitution spoken of, he added: “It is not a choice against my party or the Speaker, whom I continue to respect and support. In so doing, I cannot ignore my responsibility to act when the legislative body is at a standstill and the functioning of the national government is at risk.”
He urged Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and colleagues on all sides to come together, engage in open dialogue, and restore unity to the House.
“This is not a time for division or suspicion but a moment for us to reaffirm our shared commitment to the people of Liberia,” he emphasized.
“Let us work together to uphold the principles we are sworn to protect and to restore the dignity of the People’s House for the benefit of all Liberians.”
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