By: Melvin Flomo / WhatsApp: 0778677647
The legal luminary daughter of one of Liberia’s late astute lawyers, Counselor Charles Walker Brumskine, Ms. Charlyne M. Brumskine, has predicted that the Supreme Court will rule that controversial House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon is not the lawful person to occupy that position at the moment.
The nation is on edge as its highest court is expected to hand down ruling Wednesday, April 23rd, in the case involving embattled House Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa and the House of Representatives particularly the House’s faction that supports Mr. Koon. At the moment of this story, the House of Representatives is divided between two blocs: Majority bloc — those lawmakers supporting Koon, and Minority bloc —those lawmakers still supporting Koffa as the legitimate Speaker.
Some have argued that on Wednesday, majority of the five Supreme Court Justices may lain toward the controversial Speaker, not as an endorsement for Koon, but as a legal affirmation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers, among the three co-equal branches of the Liberian Government.
Fortnight ago, one of the Associate Justices, Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, stated, “Both sides must understand: the Court is saying, solve your political problems. We are unable to control politics here. We have thus interpreted this law. Now it’s up to you.” He stressed that the Court must remain within its constitutional bounds, while pointing out that the Senate and Executive have recognized the majority members in session.
However, appearing on the Punch TV Live, a social media talk-show conducted by Punch FM, Ms. Brumskine, who, too, is a Counselor at law, stated, when asked to give her prediction on how the Court will rule: “Don’t put me in trouble with the Supreme Court. I think that the Supreme Court will have to rule that Richard Koon is not the lawful Speaker of the House of Representatives.” She insinuated that this will only happened, “if the Supreme Court were to rule straightly on the Constitution, on the rules of the legislature. The way that Koon came into power, was not in compliance or in accordance with any of our statutory, constitutional or regulatory policies and laws.”
She thinks that the Court’s ruling will go in the way of the embattled Speaker, Counselor Koffa. “I suspect so; straightly [by] the rule of law, the ‘black letter law’, as we call it, it will have to be in Koffa’s direction.”
The legal challenge stems from a Bill of Information filed by the embattled Speaker, questioning the constitutionality of Koon’s ascension.
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