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.
Reflected on the 2023 Presidential Election
Cllr. Brumskine, who during the 2023 General Elections, contested as the running mate to Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings, reminisced on how they in the Collaboration Political Parties (CPP) saw the elections at that time.
She admitted that the election was really between two parties — Unity Party (UP), which was the major opposition, and the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), which was the ruling party.
“My understanding and what I still hear today, is that many people felt disenfranchised, dissatisfied with what happened with the CDC government. So, people said they wanted to change the government, no matter what and many felt that Cummings couldn’t do it. That UP through President Boakai would be the only one to do it.” Ms. Brumskine emphasized that the Presidential Election was a CDC-UP Election in spite other noticeable Liberians with good track recorders vying for the presidency. “There were some very dynamic, very interesting, good candidates. But it was those two; this is what the people wanted at that time.”
Notwithstanding, Counselor Brumskine, who was one of six female vice presidential candidates in the 2023 Presidential Election, stated that the experiences she gained from the process were valuable.
