Monrovia, Liberia – More than a week ago, a devastating fire ripped through the halls of power in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, setting fire to the parliament building and destroying important offices and archives.

It was the second fire in a week, a day after police used tear gas to disperse protesters demanding respect for the rule of law amid a legislative standoff and ousting the House speaker, injuring several people. .

While a link between the protests and the fire, which caused no casualties, has not been confirmed, police have questioned several people, including Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa.

So what happened in Parliament last week, and how does it relate to the current political tensions in Liberia?

What happened in Parliament?

In the early morning of December 18, fire and thick smoke engulfed the upper floors of the Parliament Building, causing serious internal damage.

Several walls cracked due to the heat. Offices and the joint chamber of the Legislature were destroyed. Firefighters used long hoses and sprinklers to control the spread of the blaze, which was brought under control.

President Joseph Boakai condemned the “massive wanton destruction” in the country as he visited the scene and said he believed the fires were politically motivated and aimed at dividing the country.

Eight days ago, a fire broke out in the legislative building and one side of the building was cordoned off, causing no injuries. The fire department did not disclose the damage but advised people to stay away from the area until an ongoing investigation before Wednesday’s fire concluded.

Separately, the day before the December 18 fire, hundreds of people protested in the capital, calling for the rule of law as lawmakers proposed a controversial move to oust Speaker Kofa, a move that led to a legislative deadlock.

The protest turned chaotic when police tried to disperse the crowd. According to police, the use of tear gas was necessary when protesters broke through barricades and entered designated “non-protest areas.” They added that “only non-lethal force was used.”

Dozens of protesters were detained after last Tuesday’s demonstrations, including Sekou Carrasco, an aide to former President George Weah.

Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the fire after it broke out last week, but Police Chief Ggragray Coleman did not rule out the possibility of arson.

Police also took four people for questioning, including Speaker Kofa and current legislator Frank Sach Fouco, who were reported to have made threats against the chamber.

“If the Legislature fails to prioritize the interests of the Liberian people, they will burn down the session,” Foucault said earlier in addressing the legislative impasse.

Police Chief Coleman noted last week: “Fouco threatened to burn down the union room, and a day later, the union room burned down. So he needs to clarify his statement.”

What’s the reason for the legislative deadlock?

Although the cause of the fire has not yet been announced, there are concerns in Liberia that it may be related to protests and legislative deadlock in the House of Representatives, one of the two bodies that make up parliament.

The House of Representatives is led by the Speaker, currently held by Kofa, a lawyer and a member of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the party of former President Weah. Opposition lawmakers, however, are seeking to remove Kofa from office because they claim he overspent the budget while serving as deputy speaker and manipulated the budget to divert millions of dollars to his office. His law firm has also faced accusations of conflicts of interest in its dealings with businesses and government agencies.

The accusations and attempts to oust him have caused months of tension in the country. In mid-October, a pro-Cofa lawmaker claimed that anti-Cofa lawmakers offered House members $15,000 to sign a written resolution calling for his removal from office.

Opponents, who call themselves the “majority bloc” in parliament, deny accusations of financial grooming and claim their decision to oust the speaker was based on allegations of serious corruption and financial mismanagement against him. The lawmakers “call on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to immediately launch an investigation into Kofa’s financial dealings,” they said.

They also boycotted parliamentary meetings, opting to hold separate meetings and elect Richard Koon of the ruling Fine Gael Party as their faction’s spokesman. Both factions claimed their meeting was valid. The government had earlier submitted budgets to both meetings, but now recognizes the anti-Science and Law meetings as legitimate.

In January, Coffa defeated Coon by five votes to become House speaker.

Koffa denied the accusations against him, denounced the anti-Koffa group and said opposition lawmakers should return to the meeting to lodge complaints against him, saying if they did he would “recuse chairing the meeting until the issue is resolved” “.

Coffa also added, “The real issues that legislators raised with me personally are not listed in the resolution — issues involving committee assignments and interactions, as well as issues with certain committee chairs’ treatment of legislators — … those are to address this crisis.”

Weah also accused the ruling party of “undermining democratic and constitutional institutions by using illicit funds from the state coffers to influence the unjust removal of the Speaker.” His CDC party has suspended 10 lawmakers who signed the resolution against Kofa.

In the 73-member House of Representatives, the CDC has 25 MPs and Fine Gael 11. Nineteen MPs won as independents. The remaining 18 seats were won by nine other parties.

Under Liberian law, the Speaker of the House of Representatives must receive a two-thirds majority vote to remove him, and 37 members are needed to ensure a quorum. So far, only 45 members have signed the resolution opposing Kofa.

Therefore, while the anti-Kofa bloc did not reach the votes needed to remove the Speaker, their boycott of the meeting prevented the pro-Cofa faction from reaching a quorum.

This has led to parliamentary deadlock, with core legislative functions grinding to a halt and the adoption of key instruments, including the national budget, delayed.

Experts say the impasse has other far-reaching implications. “The legislative deadlock has increased Liberians’ distrust of the government,” said Aaron Weah, a researcher and president of the Duco Institute, a Liberian think tank. “We also see one possible effect that is the message of nonviolent behavior. – When negotiations are over, state actors can be used – such as a possible fire incident,” he added.

In November, Koffa filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court seeking to declare the actions of the majority group illegal and force them to return to service.

In its ruling, the court said members of the majority could not be forced to return to session because there was no mandatory attendance rule in the House. It added that the legislature’s actions that were inconsistent with the law should be declared illegal, without specifying which faction’s actions were illegal.

Because of the ambiguity, each faction claimed that the other’s actions were illegal.

The Liberian government interpreted the court’s ruling in favor of the majority bloc.

However, Coffa told the media that “there is a conscious effort to ignore and flout the Supreme Court ruling,” adding that “absent legislators are receiving aid and comfort from the executive branch.”

Gerald Yeakula, program officer at the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), a non-profit organization and the Liberian national chapter of Transparency International, said: “The situation at the Capitol represents a An epic political battle that the rule of law has little power to resolve has succumbed.

“This is evidenced by the fact that the Supreme Court has recently failed to clearly identify which group of legislators is acting unlawfully,” he said. “A possible victory for the ‘majority bloc’ solidifies a dangerous precedent under the Constitution’s “The Speaker can be removed by his colleagues without giving any reason.”

Kofa has now sought clarification on the interpretation of the ruling from the Supreme Court.

What to do next?

As Kofa refused to resign as speaker despite pressure, analysts said the saga was far from over and its ending would not only set a precedent for how to resolve legislative political issues, but could also have further consequences for democracy.

“How we end the legislative gridlock is very important to the development of the country and our democracy,” said analyst Weah (no relation to former President Weah). “The legislative impasse is a sign of the kind of democracy Liberia will see in the coming years. We have a very young population, so if we don’t hold the legislature to rules and procedures, it sets the tone for how similar issues are to be resolved.”

Separately, the U.S. Embassy and the ECOWAS regional bloc have called on security agencies to investigate the cause of the fire.

The Liberian government condemned the fire, with President Boakai calling on the justice ministry and security agencies to investigate and pledging to punish those responsible. Police are offering a $5,000 reward for additional information.

Separately, the Liberia National Fire Service said an investigation was ongoing but said it suspected the fire was caused by flammable substances such as gasoline, chemicals or grease.

Separately, Speaker-elect Richard Koon, the anti-Cofa faction, said in a Dec. 20 social media post: “This attack on the Capitol cannot and will not go unpunished. It calls out to all of us. “Let us mark this painful moment by taking action and recommitting ourselves to the principles of democracy, peace and justice.”