Liberia’s Supreme Court Weighs Whether Parliament Defied Its Order in Expelling Outspoken Lawmaker

MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia’s Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment in a case that could determine whether the country’s House of Representatives defied a court order when it expelled one of its most outspoken members, Yekeh Kolubah, in April. By Victoria G. Wesseh The case turns on a narrow but consequential question: was the House leadership legally served with a Supreme Court order instructing it to halt proceedings against Kolubah before it voted to remove him? If it was, the vote may have been taken in breach of a binding judicial directive. If not, the House may have been free to act. How the Dispute Began Kolubah represented District 10 of Montserrado County, which includes the capital, Monrovia, and was long one of the Legislature’s most combative voices.

The disciplinary case against him followed a controversial statement he made about the Makona River boundary dispute, one that many considered provocative, even offensive. Kolubah was formally notified on April 9, 2026, to appear before the House Committee on Rules, Order and Administration on April 13. He and his lawyers walked out of a later committee hearing after it refused to grant them an additional five days and access to evidence. His lawyers then asked the Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition, an order used to stop a body from exceeding its authority. Associate Justice Yussif D. Kaba granted the petition on April 16, summoning House leaders to a conference on April 20 and ordering them to stay all further proceedings pending its outcome. The directive was addressed to Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon, Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah, the House Chief Clerk, the Sergeant-at-Arms and everyone acting under their authority. The next day, the House went ahead. Kolubah was expelled by the full House on…