Ex-speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa charged with arson
Liberia’s former speaker of parliament has been charged with arson over a hearth on the nation’s Home of Representatives, native police have stated.
The large blaze broke out final December, a day after plans to take away Jonathan Fonati Koffa from his position as speaker sparked protests within the capital, Monrovia.
Koffa had been locked in a stand-off together with his political opponents, with dozens of lawmakers voting for his impeachment in October over accusations of poor governance, corruption and conflicts of curiosity.
Police stated on Friday that there have been “credible hyperlinks” to counsel Koffa was “strategically concerned” within the incident. 5 different lawmakers have additionally been detained in connection to the case.
Koffa has beforehand denied any connection to the hearth breaking out.
Police chief Gregory Colman stated Koffa had been charged with a string of offences together with arson, legal mischief, endangering different folks, and tried homicide.
Colman stated Koffa had used his workplace and employees “to co-ordinate sabotage efforts from as early as November 2023”, in accordance with information company AFP.
Koffa and a number of other different lawmakers have been summoned to the Liberian Nationwide Police headquarters on Friday as “individuals of curiosity” within the case, native media studies.
The previous speaker and three sitting members of the Home of Representatives have been then remanded to Monrovia Central Jail on Saturday, newspaper FrontPage Africa reported.
The blaze on 18 December 2024 destroyed all the joint chambers of the West African nation’s legislature. Nobody was contained in the constructing on the time.
The day earlier than had seen tense protests over the plans to take away Koffa, with demonstrators together with an aide to former President George Weah arrested.
A number of people, together with Koffa and Consultant Frank Saah Foko, have been introduced in for questioning by police.
Foko, a outstanding determine within the Home of Representatives, allegedly uploaded a video to Fb wherein he stated: “If they need us to burn the chambers, we are going to burn it.”
A group of unbiased US investigators introduced in to help the investigation concluded that the hearth was set intentionally.
Liberia’s Home of Representatives has been beset by a long-running energy battle.
Though the bid to question Koffa fell wanting the two-thirds majority required, the group of 47 lawmakers who had voted for the transfer unilaterally appointed their very own speaker.
Final month, Koffa resigned as speaker after months of political impasse.