By Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh
We grew up hearing that the majority rules, that the ballot is our power, and that our collective voice shapes the nation’s destiny. But anyone who has experienced Liberia’s political seasons, as I have over the last twenty years, knows the truth is more complicated. Decisions here are not always driven by reason. They are often influenced by emotions – especially fear – and the persuasive tactics of those who understand how to sway a traumatized population.
I spoke with an elderly woman in Duala during the 2023 runoff elections. She told me, “My son, I vote because it is the only time anyone pretends to listen to me.” That sentence has stayed with me. It captures something profound about our democracy. Voting feels like action and control, but for many Liberians, it is also a release valve, a way to channel frustration into something predictable and controlled.
In a nation still healing from war, the rituals of democracy sometimes serve less as tools of empowerment and more as mechanisms of pacification. Not to silence dissent outright, but to manage it while the true power structures remain untouched.
Due process under our law is not optional; it is inherent. Under the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, expelling a lawmaker is governed by Article 38, which demands strict adherence to due process: notice, investigation, the right to defense, and transparent proceedings. Yet in the case of Representative Yekeh Kolubah, we are witnessing a troubling departure. His lawyers have reportedly been denied the opportunity to defend him. Legal analysts continue to raise serious concerns that the House Committee has ignored fundamental principles of due process. And now, even more alarming, we hear talk of treason.
Let us be clear, treason is not a political slogan. It is one of the most serious offenses under our law. It is narrowly defined and tied to acts against the state during war or in collaboration with an enemy. So, we must ask: Is Liberia at war? Is the Republic of Guinea Liberia’s enemy in that war?
Either way, is the Legislature clothed with the authority to investigate or prosecute treason?
The answer is straightforward. The power to investigate and prosecute treason lies within the Executive through law enforcement and prosecutorial institutions, not the Legislature. The Legislature is not a criminal court. It is not a prosecutorial body. Its role is lawmaking and oversight, not criminal adjudication. What we are witnessing is a dangerous blurring of constitutional boundaries.
This is not without precedent. Many still remember the controversial impeachment of Kabineh Ja’neh in 2019 under the CDC-led administration. At the time, it was widely criticized as a misuse of legislative power. Even the ECOWAS Court’s ruling in his favor was ignored. Today, the same patterns appear to be reemerging with different actors following the same script.
Let me be clear: Representative Kolubah’s comments on the border issue were reckless and uninformed. Reasonable people can and should criticize him. But criticism is not a crime. Dissent is not treason. Silencing a critic, even a loud and controversial one like Honorable Kolubah, does not strengthen democracy. It weakens it. It strips District 10’s people of the voice they chose.
A young woman from Old Road, whom I met this afternoon in the Capitol, said, “Senator, I am down.” When I asked why, she said, “They have expelled Yekeh. My vote is gone.” I then asked if she agreed with Yekeh’s utterances. “I don’t always agree with Yekeh, but at least he says what we are afraid to say,” the young woman said. Whether we agree or not, that sentiment reflects a deeper democratic truth: democracy is not only about the voices we like. It is about protecting the voices we don’t.
Meanwhile, critical national issues demand attention. Rising prices of rice, fuel, and basic goods, driven in part by global instability, are suffocating ordinary Liberians. Yet instead of addressing these realities, we are consumed by political theatrics.
At the same time, President Joseph Boakai is calling for legislative approval to print new banknotes and pass a $45 million supplemental budget. These are serious national matters that require transparency, deliberation, and public trust, not procedural shortcuts that raise suspicion of ulterior motives.
Liberia has endured too much to accept governance by convenience. So we must ask ourselves honestly, if due process can be ignored,
if dissent can be criminalized, if constitutional roles can be blurred for political ends, is this a true democracy then? Or is it simply a well-managed performance that increasingly silences the people for and by whom the government still pretends to exist? And finally, when power changes hands, what ensures the same pattern doesn’t repeat itself with different victims?
The expulsion of Yekeh Kolubah represents yet more theatrics in the chambers of the House of Representatives that risk grinding the whole system of government to a halt. And if this rift keeps elected politicians focused on each other rather than on the core issues of governance that improve the conditions of those who elected us, who benefits and suffers from what goes unnoticed?
Last but not least, let’s remember the significance of Rep. Kolubah’s voice during the Weah Administration, when he stood up against the alleged corruption, bad governance, and human rights abuses on the opposition’s behalf. The now-ruling party led the opposition then and had no problem hailing him as a dissenting voice. Why, now, do they have a problem with that same criticism?
Finally, the Judiciary has issued an injunction on the case, pausing all proceedings by the House of Representatives concerning Representative Kolubah and citing the House leadership to a conference scheduled for Monday, April 20, 2026. Are we now saying the Supreme Court is not relevant in the dispensation of due process?
What happened in the House is not politics. It is madness. Reinstate Honorable Yekeh Kolubah immediately!
About the Author
