Africa-Press – Liberia.
Two lawmakers of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, Representatives Acarous Moses Gray and Frank Saah Foko, Jr. have openly threatened to physically attack Rep. Yekeh Kolubah if he dares abuse President George Weah again in the chamber of the House of Representatives.
During a heated argument in session on Thursday, the two lawmakers said if Rep. Kolubah does not stop his constant habit of raining invectives at President Weah, they will beat him up in the chamber.
“This is not fun we are making here… This is a revolution we fought for… When Yekeh insults the President here on Tuesday, we will beat him. We will do it. No insulting in this chamber. Enough is enough. We will beat that man in session. If we don’t beat him, then don’t respect us,” Rep. Gray vowed.
His colleague, Rep. Foko added: “The next time Yekeh insults President Weah here, there will be no session. We will fight here. You are all sitting here saying nothing. Next time he insults the President, We will beat him.”
How It All Started
On Thursday, members of the House of Representatives gathered in session to conduct business for the 8th day sitting of the current 5th Session of the 54th Legislature. Everything was going on well until Rep. Isaac Roland (CDC, District #3, Maryland County), in an observation, pointed out that Rep. Kolubah was not dress properly; and as such he should be thrown out. Suddenly all hell broke loose, as Reps. Kolubah and Foko began throwing invectives at each other. Rep. Foko called Rep. Kolubah an insane killer, and in retaliation, Rep. Kolubah directed slew of invectives at President Weah.
A Fair Play or Witch Hunt?
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observed that while Rep. Kolubah and Seboe were in the same attires – a T-shirt worn under a coat, only Rep. Kolubah was thrown out of session by Speaker Bhofal Chambers. When Rep. Roland, in his observation flagged out that Rep. Kolubah was not dressed properly, Representatives Richard Nagbe Koon (UP, District 11, Montserrado Co) and Dixon Wlawlee Seboe (CDC, Montserrado County) flew to Kolubah’s defense. Rep. Seboe said, his colleague, like him, was dress in a French attire, a dress code that was in conformity with the standards set by the House in its rules.
However, Speaker Chambers, serving as the Presiding Officer, ordered the House’s Sergeant at-Arms to fetch the Chairman of the House’s Committee on Rules and Order, Rep. Johnson Gwaikolo; who was not present during the initial stages of the arguments, to come and determine if Rep. Kolubah was properly dressed or not. Rep. Gwaikolo, upon his arrival, openly read rule 22.11, which states: “Every member attending session shall be properly attired (a business suit, slack, and jacket “higher heights/French Suit” or African attire). Ladies are especially solicited to dress in a manner depicting their elevated status in society. (All pants are specifically prohibited for ladies, except where a pants-suit is worn and the upper garment hangs below the knees or at least at knee level).”
Next, he told Plenary that Rep. Kolubah was in breach of the rule, and immediately, the Speaker ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort him outside. Some lawmakers including Reps. Robert Womba (UP, Bong County) Thomas Goshua (UP, District #5, Grand Bassa County) and Byron Zahnwea (Rivercess County) said the treatment meted against their colleague was unfair.
Rep. Womba accused Rep. Gwaikolo and the Speaker of being unfair for only singling out Rep. Kolubah and leaving Rep. Seboe who was also dressed in similar way. Pointing to Rep. Gwaikolo, he said: “History will judge you for what you did here today. You were being unfair in your judgement.”
Rep. Zahnwea questioned the decision of Speaker Chambers to expel the lawmaker from session unilaterally based on Rep. Gwaikolo’s opinion. He said the decision should have been taken by Plenary as the highest decision making body, based on a recommendation from a Committee, and not an individual.
Rep. Kolubah: A Valliant or a Victor?
Rep. Kolubah has been a staunch critic of President Weah and his CDC-led Government since 2018. He is often heard accusing the President and some members of his cabinet of being corrupt. In May 2021, the Plenary of the House, acting on the recommendations of its Committee on Rules, Order and Administration led by Rep. Gwaikolo, suspended him for 16-session days (two months) for allegedly raining insults on President George Weah. His salary and other benefits were withheld during the time of suspension. He is often criticized for what his critics called his constant unruly behavior against the President. But in defense, Rep. Kolubah said his outburst against the President is in retaliation of verbal and physical attacks against him by the President’s surrogates including party’s stalwarts and some government officials.
He has also been thrown out on several occasions for his outburst against the Speaker and the President. Owing to this, the Montserrado County District #10 lawmaker has been constantly threatened by some lawmakers of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change including Reps. Gray and Thomas Fallah, who authored the communication that triggered the vote to suspend him last year.
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