By Bill W. Cooper
Article 4 of the Dual Citizenship Amended Law of 2022 says, “Liberians who hold dual citizenship will be ineligible to hold any elected public office.
The leadership election for the House of Representatives is now hanging in uncertainty as the citizenship of the only two candidates for the Speakership position are being questioned.
Representative Richard Nagbe Koon is the incoming Unity Party (UP’s) choice for the Speakership, while current Deputy Speaker, J. Fonati Koffa, is the outgoing ruling and Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC’s) preferred candidate for the Speakership.
Both candidates have since been lobbying with their colleagues to ensure victory come today, January 15, 2024, but with this latest development about their respective citizenships, it is most likely that the constitutional election might not be held.
The debate in the dying minutes has swayed from who is capable of delivering on their already crafted agendas to who has the legitimacy as rival camps clashed in accusation of US citizenship.
The situation has placed the entire process slated for today, January 15, 2024, coupled with the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Boakai, in suspense, prompting intense debates and deliberations among stakeholders and the public.
Both camps are pointing accusing fingers as each other’s candidate of being an American citizen, thus rendering their candidacy unqualified for becoming Speaker of Liberia.
Specifically, the UP having accused Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa of being an American, the party is reportedly planning to challenge that legally while, the CDC is also planning to throw similar challenge on the UP’s candidate Richard Koon, who they alleged to be an American citizen and a Nigerian background.
On Friday, January 13, 2024, the Secretary General of the UP, Amos Tweh, in a conversation with FPA, validated the claims that they are contemplating the legality of Cllr. Koffa’s citizenship, something he said the UP considered a favorable option to land victory for its candidate, Richard Koon.
Tweh said his party’s assertion is backed by Article 4 of the amended Aliens and Nationality law that clearly states that “Liberians who hold dual citizenship will be ineligible to hold any elected public office, and any such person interested in holding an elected public office must renounce the citizenship of the other country at least one year before making an application to the NEC.”
According to Tweh, if established by law that Cllr. Koffa holds a dual citizenship, he would be stripped of his post and be made to denounce his ambition, something which many said would eventually lead to a constitutional crisis.
Critics argued that it could also prevent President-elect Joseph Boakai from being inaugurated in the absence of a speaker presiding and establishing a quorum for the inauguration which is scheduled for January 22, 2024.
Amid these grave allegations, passports and other relevant documents in support of the two men’s American citizenship have been circulating on social media platforms; these documents are yet to be independently authenticated by this paper.
But Rep. Koon says, “I got my Green Card on the teacher exchange program sponsored by the World Bank through the University of Liberia. I had Green card that expired since 2018 during my Professor Exchange Program at the University of Michigan. Since then, I have been traveling with InfoPass Stamp in my Liberia Passport. My last Info Pass expired September 27, 2023.”
However, this paper got a passport copy of Koffa’s expired passport, that was since February of 2022 with no established trace of any renewal though Cllr. Koffa himself has refrained from openly responding to the claim.
If these disturbing arguments lead to a legal battle, that could lead to the postponement of the election of a speaker and that could stall the inauguration of the incoming government under what appears to be the gavel of Bhofal Chambers because legally he is still heading that branch of the Legislature.
Unlike Albert Chie who led negotiation into the election of his successor, Chambers name might just go down in history for the wrong reasons after serving an entire term successfully and to witness the House delay the inauguration based on wrong picks that could lead to serious constitutional crises thus introducing a dramatic legacy for the 54th Legislature generally.
Both men are reelected members of the House of Representatives and if this law is anything to go by, they were already in violation especially with Koffa serving in his first term as deputy speaker.
Howbeit, the dual citizenship amended law of 2022 further says “any such person interested in holding an elected public office must renounce the citizenship of the other country at least one year before making an application to the National Election Commission to be a candidate. In addition, a Liberian citizen who holds citizenship of another country is ineligible for appointment as minister of finance and development planning, minister of defense, and executive director of the Central Bank of Liberia.”
