By Mark N. Mengonfia –mmengonfia@gmail.com
On Thursday, March 25, 2021, members of the House of Representatives took an action against one of their colleagues, Representative Yekeh Kolubah of Montserrado district number ten to correct what they termed correct his mistakes.
The body suspended for the period of three and a half months (30 meeting days).
His suspension is in keeping with rule 48.7 of that body which states that, “The House may, according to the circumstances and degree of the breach, take the following measures: a) it may give an oral warning, b) it may give a written warning; c) it may suspend a member for not more than 30 days of the meeting, stop the payment of salary and allowances due him/her for the days of suspension, as the case may be; and d) it may expel a member from the House where the breach is very serious or where it is committed repeatedly.”
In keeping with their rules, a member of that body in person of Montserrado County District five lawmaker, Thomas Fallah wrote the plenary of the House of Representatives in which he said the constant act of insulting the President, is something that denigrates the “Honorable House.”
Rep. Fallah furthered that Rep. Kolubah’s continually insulting the Presidency and his ‘reckless and insulting comments’ are not only shameful, but bring them (Lawmakers) into what he calls ‘disrepute’.
He said Rep. Yekeh’s recent outburst, calling “the President a ‘dog’ is unacceptable and needs to be reprimanded.”
After Representative Fallah’s complain was read and discussed, a member of the opposition block at the House of Representative raised a motion to suspend Rep. Kolubah
Rep. Edward Kafiah, of the People’s Unification Party (PUP) in his motion argued that his colleague (Yekeh Kolubah) has been warned more than four times to desist from acting dishonorably and breaching the rules and procedures.
“I therefore, move that Rep. Kolubah be suspended in line with 48.7 (c) of the House rules” the motion was carried.
Although majority members of that body are from opposition and independent block but when the motion was raised and called for it to be tested, majority of his colleagues constituting the total of 24 voted for his suspension while seven voted against him.
His suspension comes a day after he was humiliated by his colleagues in which he was thrown out for improper dress code.
On Tuesday, March 24, 2021, representative Thomas Fallah raised an observation to the Speaker of that body that his colleague, Kolubah was not dressed responsibly seeking the speaker’s intervention to have the lawmaker thrown out of session, a request that was granted by Speaker Bhofal Chambers.
After a day, the same lawmaker(Fallah) wrote the plenary of that body to have his colleague (Kolubah) reprimanded; a request which was also granted by that body with a majority vote of 27.
Not many persons in the House of Representatives welcome the constant outburst of Kolubah.
Representatives Sam Kogar of PUP, Rosana Schaack (Independent), and Julie Wiah (Independent) who are all members of the opposition described the invectives and behavior of their colleague, Rep. Kolubah, as “dishonorable” something they said does not have space in this current days.
The suspended lawmaker declined to speak. When asked for a respond, he said; “I have nothing to say”, but after few minutes he made an attempt and raised his hands to speak, but was rejected by the Speaker Chambers.
This suspension can only be changed only and when a motion for reconsideration from Montserrado County District number eight Rep. is filed and tested in his (Kolubah) favor.
Outside of a proper defense of the motion of reconsideration which is expected to be tested after that body’s Easter break which ends on April 13, 2021.
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