Latest news with #Koffa
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Liberia's ex-speaker charged with arson over parliament fire
Liberia's former speaker of parliament has been charged with arson over a fire at the nation's House of Representatives, local police have said. The huge blaze broke out last December, a day after plans to remove Jonathan Fonati Koffa from his role as speaker sparked protests in the capital, Monrovia. Koffa had been locked in a stand-off with his political opponents, with dozens of lawmakers voting for his impeachment in October over accusations of poor governance, corruption and conflicts of interest. Police said on Friday that there were "credible links" to suggest Koffa was "strategically involved" in the incident. Five other lawmakers have also been detained in connection to the case. Koffa has previously denied any connection to the fire breaking out. Police chief Gregory Colman said Koffa had been charged with a string of offences including arson, criminal mischief, endangering other people, and attempted murder. Colman said Koffa had used his office and staff "to co-ordinate sabotage efforts from as early as November 2023", according to news agency AFP. Koffa and several other lawmakers were summoned to the Liberian National Police headquarters on Friday as "persons of interest" in the case, local media reports. The former speaker and three sitting members of the House of Representatives were then remanded to Monrovia Central Prison on Saturday, newspaper FrontPage Africa reported. The blaze on 18 December 2024 destroyed the entire joint chambers of the West African nation's legislature. No one was inside the building at the time. The day before had seen tense protests over the plans to remove Koffa, with demonstrators including an aide to former President George Weah arrested. Several individuals, including Koffa and Representative Frank Saah Foko, were brought in for questioning by police. Foko, a prominent figure in the House of Representatives, allegedly uploaded a video to Facebook in which he said: "If they want us to burn the chambers, we will burn it." A team of independent US investigators brought in to assist the investigation concluded that the fire was set deliberately. Liberia's House of Representatives has been beset by a long-running power struggle. Although the bid to impeach Koffa fell short of the two-thirds majority required, the group of 47 lawmakers who had voted for the move unilaterally appointed their own speaker. Last month, Koffa resigned as speaker after months of political deadlock. Embattled Liberian speaker questioned by police over parliament fire Liberian speaker denies links to parliament fire
Daily Maverick
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Postwar Liberia still struggles with corruption and impunity
Corruption was a cause of Liberia's 14-year civil war and also triggered the current political crisis that threatens the country's stability. On 23 April, Liberia's supreme court affirmed the legitimacy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Jonathan Fonati Koffa. This followed months of legislative impasse and political crisis triggered by rival legislators' vote to remove Koffa over alleged budget manipulations, overruns and a conflict of interest involving his law firm and government agencies. The legislators, forming the 'Majority Bloc', had voted to elect Richard Koon to replace Koffa. They alleged that Koffa's office overspent its allocation of about $1.5-million by more than $4-million in 2022 and about $3-million in 2023. These amounts, they said, could not be accounted for. The situation disrupted legislative business, provoking protests and apparently causing fires to be set in the Capitol Building. Importantly, it highlights the country's struggle to break from one of the direct causes of its 1989-2003 civil war – corruption and impunity – and the need for renewed and sustained anti-corruption efforts. Among the key objectives of the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the conflict, was combating corruption and institutionalising good governance. These were reinforced by recommendations of the truth and reconciliation commission, and successive postwar governments have – at least officially – made them key components of their governance agenda. Key among the several steps taken to achieve these objectives were establishing the Governance Commission in 2007, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission in 2008 and the General Auditing Commission in 2014. In 2022, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Act was amended to grant direct prosecutorial powers to the commission, in addition to passing a Whistleblower Act and the Witness Protection Act to facilitate public reporting of corrupt acts. In April 2024, the legislature voted to approve President Joseph Boakai's proposal to set up a War and Economic Crimes Court to prosecute perpetrators of serious abuses committed during the civil war. Notwithstanding these efforts, Liberia remains haunted by entrenched corruption, consistently ranking close to the bottom of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Its score has been less than 40 and has declined since 2013. Institute for Security Studies interviews with several stakeholders point to a culture of political patronage and lack of political will to ensure criminal accountability for corruption. Institutional weakness – and often dysfunctionality – is also among the causal factors that have transcended various governments. These deep-seated challenges were acknowledged in 2016 by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's first postwar president, but have since persisted. She noted that her government had 'not fully met the anti-corruption pledge… because of the intractability of dependency and dishonesty cultivated from years of deprivation and poor governance'. A succession of corruption scandals rocked her government, including those emanating from General Auditing Commission investigations, but for which there were no prosecutions. George Weah, who succeeded Sirleaf, faced immense public unease following several scandals involving his appointees. Like in the Sirleaf era, public appointments based on political connections and personal relations under Weah meant appointees were not prosecuted for corruption. Yet some stakeholders still argued that corruption under Weah became insidious and accounted for his electoral defeat in November 2023. In August 2022, for instance, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Liberian government officials Nathaniel McGill, Sayma Syrenius Cephus and Bill Twehway for graft. Former finance minister Samuel Tweah was also sanctioned in December 2023 alongside two senators and Monrovia's mayor, Jefferson Koijee, for involvement in corruption and, in Koijee's case, human rights abuses. None of these cases resulted in prosecutions, a situation that has drawn criticism of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission for failing to exercise its prosecutorial powers. However, it reflects the resource and capacity constraints and lack of political and fiscal independence faced by the commission and other anti-corruption institutions, particularly the General Auditing Commission. Much like his predecessors, Boakai has sought to strike the right tone by promising to fight corruption. In February he suspended more than 450 government officials, including the health and education ministers and high-ranking state institution officials. They were accused of undermining 'national efforts to combat corruption and ensure accountability' by failing to declare assets as required by law. Yet, the president has been criticised for being selective and politically motivated by suspending certain officials for corrupt acts while leaving others with the same allegations untouched. Boakai's anti-corruption agenda also faces other challenges. His appointment of Jonathan Massaquoi to head the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court – the body mandated to prepare the legal grounds for the court's establishment – sparked controversy over Massaquoi's previous legal representation of Agnes Taylor, wife of convicted former president Charles Taylor. Rooting out corruption and institutionalising good governance remains a vital postwar imperative. Doing so requires far more than setting up anti-corruption frameworks. Stakeholders must tackle the culture of patronage, promote criminal accountability for corrupt acts and remove political and resource impediments to institutional effectiveness. The current political crisis, rooted in allegations of corruption, also offers a unique opportunity for Liberia to take stock of its good governance and anti-corruption progress and renew its efforts. DM Sampson Kwarkye, project manager for Littoral West African States, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Regional Office for West Africa and the Sahel.
Daily Tribune
29-03-2025
- Daily Tribune
Bahrain Coast Guard Arrests Four Fishermen for Illegal Shrimp Fishing
Email : Bahrain's Coast Guard has arrested four fishermen in the Fisht Al-Jarm area for engaging in illegal shrimp fishing using banned bottom trawling nets known as 'Koffa.' The fishermen were also found violating the seasonal ban on shrimp fishing. The Coast Guard Command reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Bahrain's marine resources by closely monitoring and cracking down on illegal fishing practices. Authorities emphasized the importance of adhering to fisheries regulations to safeguard the sustainability of marine life and fish stocks within Bahrain's territorial waters. The Coast Guard urged all fishermen to comply with the established laws, reinforcing the nation's dedication to preserving its rich maritime ecosystem.
