MONROVIA – What started as a political controversy over remarks by Montserrado County District 10 Representative Yekeh Y. Kolubah has grown into one of the most consequential confrontations between Legislature and judiciary in recent years. On Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., the Supreme Court will hear his appeal against an expulsion that 49 lawmakers approved on April 17.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

The Court’s October 14 notice, signed by Clerk Cllr. Sam Mamulu, schedules arguments. It does not announce a decision, and it does not promise a judgment on the day. Nearly six months after the vote, the case is returning to the full bench, and its outcome may turn less on politics than on a question of procedure.

A border comment becomes a disciplinary case

The dispute traces back to statements attributed to Kolubah during a sensitive period in the country’s territorial disagreement with Guinea. According to communications later presented to the House, he suggested that contested territory belonged to Guinea. Some lawmakers and security officials reacted with alarm.

Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman wrote to the House warning that such statements, made by an elected official without an established legal, diplomatic or treaty basis, could unsettle border communities. He also reported that Guinean authorities and affiliated actors had begun referencing the remarks, which he feared could lend weight to claims unfavorable to Liberia. In his view, lawmakers carry a heightened responsibility when speaking about sovereignty, and reckless statements could raise concerns about breaches of the peace.

That argument immediately raised a competing constitutional question. Can an elected legislator be expelled for a controversial opinion on a national issue? Or can such statements, depending on their nature and consequences, amount to misconduct serious enough to justify the harshest sanction a chamber can impose?

The matter reached the House through two communications: one from the Montserrado District 3 Representative, Sumo Mulbah, seeking expulsion for alleged misconduct and violation of his oath, and the other from Coleman. Montserrado District 4 Representative and lawyer Michael Thomas then moved that the Committee on Rules, Order and Administration investigate and report to Plenary during the special session. Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon urged Kolubah to cooperate with the process.

The vote

On April 17, the House voted to expel Kolubah. Article 38 of the Constitution lets each chamber set its rules, maintain discipline and expel a member with the concurrence of two-thirds. Forty-nine votes clear that threshold in a 73-member chamber, so the numbers have not been the weak point of the House’s position.

The more contested question is whether the process leading to the vote met constitutional and procedural standards. Expulsion differs sharply from a reprimand or suspension. It removes an elected official from the institution and strips a constituency of its chosen representative, which is why the safeguards surrounding it matter as much as the count.

The hearing Kolubah left

The House’s lawyers say he was given the opportunity to answer the allegations but walked away from the hearing convened for that purpose. Having left voluntarily, they argue, he cannot credibly claim he was denied due process.

Kolubah’s challenge disputes the legality of the process. Accounts of the proceedings have also raised questions about whether his lawyers had a real chance to participate, obtain evidence and prepare a defense. Those allegations would require examination of the disciplinary record before anyone could draw firm conclusions.

The disagreement illustrates a distinction between holding a hearing and providing a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Article 20(a), which protects due process, generally requires adequate notice, understanding of the allegations, access to relevant evidence and a fair chance to respond. Yet an institution is not necessarily obliged to halt its proceedings whenever an accused member declines to take part. The legal weight of Kolubah’s departure depends on the circumstances around it.

The order and the vote

While the disciplinary process was underway, Kolubah’s lawyers sought help from the Supreme Court. According to accounts of the dispute, Associate Justice Yussif D. Kaba issued a directive on April 16 concerning the continuation of the House’s proceedings. The House voted to expel him the next day.

That sequence became the foundation of Kolubah’s case. His lawyers argue the Legislature acted in disregard of judicial authority. The House replies that it was never properly served with the relevant documents and cannot be accused of violating an order it did not legally receive.

The dispute thus moved from legislative discipline into a question about the authority of the courts. Article 2 establishes the supremacy of the Constitution, and no branch of government has unlimited power. But showing that an institution defied an order requires proof of the order’s legal effect and of notice delivered in the manner the law prescribes. Acting after a directive was reportedly issued does not, by itself, establish deliberate defiance.

The Bill of Information and the House’s defense

Kolubah’s lawyers filed a Bill of Information alleging violations of judicial directives and due-process protections. On April 29, the House’s lawyers asked for its dismissal. They argued that the House has constitutional authority to discipline and expel members, that Kolubah received due process but abandoned the hearing, that the judicial documents were not properly served, and that he failed to exhaust internal legislative remedies before going to court.

The service argument proved the most powerful. A government institution, the lawyers said, cannot be held responsible for an order never communicated to it through recognized procedures.

May’s ruling

In May 2026, Justice Kaba dismissed the Bill of Information for improper service. According to accounts of the ruling, the House had not been properly served with the writ and stay order. The Sergeant-at-Arms was identified as the official authorized to receive documents for the Legislature, and the papers had not reached that office through the required channel.

The decision was a significant setback for Kolubah, but its limits matter. It did not hold that the expulsion was constitutional, and it did not find that the allegations justified removal. It addressed the narrower question of whether the procedural conditions for enforcing the directive against the House had been met.

That means a procedural ruling can settle one legal challenge without resolving the underlying constitutional dispute. If the Supreme Court upholds the dismissal, it will not necessarily have examined or endorsed the disciplinary proceedings. Likewise, a win for Kolubah on service would not automatically prove the expulsion unconstitutional.

What legal practitioners expect

FrontPage Africa asked legal practitioners how the appeal might fare. Two lawyers, neither of whom authorized publication of their names, pointed to service as potentially decisive.

One said court documents must be served on officials legally authorized to receive them, and that delivery to anyone else may not establish that an institution got proper notice. He expressed doubts about Kolubah’s prospects. The other explained that service guarantees a party legally sufficient notice, ordinarily through a sheriff or marshal delivering papers to the right recipient. He called the earlier finding a serious weakness in Kolubah’s position.

Both framed their views as personal predictions, not knowledge of how the justices will rule. The justices must decide independently whether the earlier finding was correct and what follows from it.

The constitutional view

Political and social commentator Dr. Clarence R. Pearson Sr. has looked past service to the wider stakes. He sees the case as a test of whether the Court can avoid two dangers: letting legislative independence become immunity from constitutional scrutiny, and letting judicial oversight erode the Legislature’s legitimate authority over its own affairs.

Pearson notes that Article 38 must be read alongside Article 15 on freedom of expression, Article 17 on assembly, association and petition, Article 20(a) on due process and Article 2 on constitutional supremacy. A power to expel, he argues, does not make every use of it lawful. He cautions against treating dissent or controversial criticism as grounds for expulsion without examining the actual conduct, evidence and applicable rules, while acknowledging that free expression does not shield unlawful threats or serious misconduct.

He also insists the case should not become a referendum on Kolubah’s popularity or combative style. The analysis must rest on constitutional provisions.

District 10

The people of Montserrado County Electoral District 10 have been living with uncertainty since April. Article 37 provides for filling legislative vacancies through by-elections, but applying it is difficult while the legality of the removal is under challenge. If the expulsion stands, the vacancy questions return. If it is invalidated, the consequences differ.

One lawyer told FrontPage Africa that the by-election timetable should not be confused with the Supreme Court’s own scheduling, noting that cases can wait extended periods before assignment and that no general rule requires the Court to hear matters within the vacancy period. That is a legal point, but it does not remove the public-interest concern about prolonged uncertainty over an elected seat.

What the justices might do

The Court could uphold the dismissal, leaving the Bill of Information closed and the expulsion unexamined. It could instead find that the earlier ruling needs reconsideration and order further proceedings. It could also address the operation of the April 16 directive and the circumstances of the vote.

A favorable procedural ruling would not necessarily mean immediate reinstatement, since the Court might grant limited relief or direct a remedy aimed at a specific defect. An unfavorable ruling would not endorse every allegation against him. Predictions that Kolubah will automatically return or permanently lose his seat are premature.

A precedence that outlives the dispute

Whatever the result, the case is likely to be cited. A ruling on the limits of expulsion could shape future disciplinary proceedings and clarify when judicial review is available. A ruling stressing service could affect disputes involving ministries, agencies and other public bodies that become parties to litigation.

It is also a chance to reaffirm that constitutional protections apply regardless of political identity. An outspoken opposition lawmaker and a member aligned with House leadership are entitled to the same safeguards, and the House’s authority to discipline should not depend on the accused member’s popularity.

When the justices convene on October 22, the question will reach beyond whether Kolubah should have been expelled. It will be whether the process complied with the Constitution and whether the institutions wielding public

power stayed within the law. For a country that depends on the separation of powers, the answer may matter far more than the fate of a single seat.

GBARNGA, Bong County — For hundreds of children attending Chief Compound Community Public School in the heart of Gbarnga, the struggle to secure a comfortable place to sit has become an unfortunate part of their daily educational experience. While some pupils manage with broken chairs and damaged benches, others have been forced to sit on bricks or classroom floors, a situation that has recently brought the government institution under public scrutiny.

But amid growing concerns about the deteriorating learning conditions, Bong County Land Administrator Madam Amelia Queen Cassell has offered a measure of relief, donating 40 armchairs to the institution as part of activities commemorating her birthday.

The gesture, which also included the distribution of traditional lappers to elderly women selling vegetables and greens at the Gbarnga Sunday Market, marked a departure from conventional birthday celebrations, as Cassell chose to direct attention toward vulnerable residents and schoolchildren confronting everyday difficulties.

Her intervention comes at a time when Chief Compound Community Public School has been attracting attention over the shortage of classroom furniture, a problem that has continued to undermine efforts by teachers and administrators to provide a conducive learning environment.

Located in Gbarnga, the administrative headquarters of Bong County, the school occupies a position that makes its difficulties particularly troubling. The city is home to county authorities, educational administrators, lawmakers’ local offices and other influential stakeholders whose responsibilities include promoting development and improving public services.

Yet, within this same urban setting, children attending one of the city’s government schools continue to struggle with something as basic as finding a proper chair during classroom instruction.

With an enrollment reportedly exceeding 1,500 pupils, the institution has experienced increasing pressure on its limited furniture, leaving administrators to manage overcrowded classrooms with insufficient desks and chairs.

Recent reports about conditions at the school have drawn attention to pupils sitting on bricks, damaged benches and classroom floors while attempting to follow lessons. Some students reportedly carry chairs from

their homes, while others rely on makeshift seating arrangements that provide little comfort during lengthy instructional periods.

The situation has also raised concerns about educational inequality, particularly for children from low-income households whose parents are unable to purchase chairs for their use.

Reports that some pupils have stayed away from school because of the furniture shortage have added urgency to calls for intervention, with residents questioning how such conditions can persist in the heart of a city where many of the county’s decision-makers are based.

It is against this background that Cassell’s birthday donation has taken on significance beyond the number of chairs presented. Although the 40 armchairs cannot accommodate the school’s entire student population, they represent immediate assistance to children who might otherwise continue attending classes without suitable seating.

Cassell said her decision to support the school was motivated by a desire to make her birthday meaningful through service to others. According to her, the occasion presented an opportunity to reflect on the needs of people within her community and provide assistance where it could make a difference.

She explained that children should be encouraged to pursue their education under conditions that promote concentration, dignity and academic achievement.

The Bong County Land Administrator also emphasized the importance of individuals taking practical steps to address community challenges instead of relying exclusively on government institutions. She expressed hope that her intervention would encourage other prominent citizens, businesspeople and organizations to identify pressing needs within their communities and contribute toward addressing them.

For Chief Compound Community Public School Principal Moses Plator, the donation represents a welcome response to an issue that has remained a serious concern for the institution. Plator expressed appreciation to Cassell for recognizing the plight of the students and making their welfare part of her birthday activities.

He noted that the school’s administration has continued to face difficulties providing adequate seating for its growing population, describing the shortage as a challenge that affects both students and teachers.

The principal said the donation demonstrates that meaningful assistance to public schools does not always require large-scale projects, but can begin with individuals identifying specific problems and responding according to their abilities.

Plator said, “We want to sincerely appreciate Madam Amelia Queen Cassell for this important gesture toward our school. The fact that she decided to remember our students while celebrating her birthday means a great deal to us. We have been experiencing serious challenges with classroom furniture, and anyone who understands the situation at Chief Compound Public School will appreciate the importance of these 40 armchairs. They will provide some relief to our children and help create better conditions for learning. We are grateful that she has recognized education as something deserving of her personal attention and support.”

Plator explained that the institution’s furniture shortage has become increasingly difficult to manage because of the number of children seeking education at the school.

He said the challenge extends beyond the physical discomfort experienced by pupils, noting that inadequate seating can interfere with classroom organization and make it difficult for teachers to maintain an effective instructional environment.

According to him, a child who spends several hours sitting on an uncomfortable surface may struggle to concentrate fully on lessons, while teachers must devote additional attention to managing seating arrangements instead of focusing entirely on instruction.

He stressed that the donation should serve as a reminder to county authorities, educational stakeholders and other concerned citizens that improving public education requires consistent attention to the basic needs of students.

The principal further observed that the school’s location in central Gbarnga should make it easier for concerned individuals and institutions to witness its difficulties firsthand.

He expressed hope that the recent public attention surrounding the furniture shortage, together with Cassell’s intervention, would encourage broader efforts to improve conditions at the institution.

“Our school is situated right here in Gbarnga, the capital of Bong County, where government officials, education authorities and many prominent citizens are carrying out their responsibilities every day. Yet, we are still struggling to provide enough chairs for our children. Madam Cassell has taken an important step, and we appreciate her for that. However, the need remains enormous, and we are appealing to other well-meaning individuals to follow her example. We want a situation where every child who comes to Chief Compound Public School can enter the classroom and find a proper place to sit and learn. Education is everybody’s responsibility, and we believe that with collective support, these challenges can be addressed,” Plator said in a second proposed quotation requiring verification.

Beyond the school compound, Cassell extended her birthday outreach to elderly women at the Gbarnga Sunday Market, where she distributed several pieces of traditional lappers.

The beneficiaries included women who depend on selling greens, vegetables and other locally produced agricultural commodities to generate income for their households.

Cassell acknowledged the difficult circumstances under which many elderly market women operate, noting that some spend long hours at the market despite their advanced ages and limited financial resources.

She said their contributions to family welfare and the local economy deserve greater recognition and support. The women welcomed the assistance and expressed appreciation for being included in the birthday activities.

They described the gesture as a demonstration of concern for ordinary people whose daily struggles often receive limited public attention. Meanwhile, the challenges confronting Chief Compound Community Public School remain far from resolved.

An administrative law judge says Minnesota regulators failed to prove Golden Touch Health Care posed an imminent danger to residents, a finding supporters of owner Sekou Dukuly call long overdue.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. – For two months, Sekou Hussein Dukuly has watched the business he built in the Twin Cities suburbs sit empty, its residents relocated and its licenses frozen by order of the state. This week, a judge told Minnesota health officials they got it wrong.

In a ruling dated October 14, 2026, Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Todnem concluded that the Minnesota Department of Health “prematurely” suspended the three assisted living licenses held by Dukuly’s company, Golden Touch Health Care LLC. She found the department failed to show that the company’s problems posed an imminent risk of harm to residents, the legal standard required for an emergency suspension. Her formal recommendation to Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham is to rescind the suspension.

For Dukuly and the Liberian community members who have followed his case closely, the language was unusually direct. Reading the judge’s findings, one supporter said, was the first time in weeks that anyone in authority had said out loud what the family had argued from the start: that the state moved before it had the evidence.

The ruling is a recommendation, not a final order, and it does not resolve every dispute facing the company. But on the question before the judge, it was a clear win.

The Day Everything Changed

Golden Touch Health Care operates three licensed assisted living facilities in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, serving residents with physical and mental health needs. Two of the licenses date to August 2021, and a third was issued in April 2025. The Department of Health renewed all three earlier this year.

On August 19, 2026, investigators visited each facility. By the end of the day, the department had issued orders immediately suspending all three licenses for 90 days. Golden Touch complied, transferring all 11 of its residents to other facilities.

The department’s reasoning rested on two concerns. First, as of August 12, Dukuly was no longer registered with the state’s licensing board as the director of record for the facilities, and no replacement had been registered. Second, the state Department of Human Services (DHS) had signaled it would withhold Medical Assistance payments to the company starting September 21, citing credible allegations of fraud that it was investigating. The health department concluded that unclear leadership combined with a coming loss of revenue would likely disrupt care.

Golden Touch appealed within days. On October 1, its attorneys from the Greene Espel law firm faced off against two assistant attorneys general in an expedited hearing before Judge Todnem.

A Narrow Question, a Clear Answer

The hearing was limited by statute to two questions: whether there was sufficient evidence of violations posing an imminent risk of harm to residents’ health and safety, and whether the suspension should remain in effect.

The judge began with the meaning of the word that decided the case. “Imminent” is not defined in the statute, so she used its ordinary meaning: likely to happen very soon. Then she measured the department’s evidence against it, and the evidence fell short.

Thirty-Three Days

The department’s first argument concerned the coming payment withhold. But the suspension was issued on August 19, and the withhold was not scheduled to begin until September 21, a gap of 33 days.

“By definition,” Judge Todnem wrote, any concerns resulting from a disruption in revenue were not imminent. Golden Touch had experienced no change in its revenue. According to the findings, company staff did not even know the withhold notices were coming until the investigator raised the issue during the on-site visit.

The judge also noted that the DHS notices gave Golden Touch until August 29 to tell the state whether it would keep serving residents without Medical Assistance payments. By suspending the licenses first, she found, the department took that decision away from the company.

She was pointed about the consequences. The company’s nurse supervisor, Ishmael Komara, testified that Dukuly had financial options to keep the facilities running for six months. The testimony was not backed by documents, but the judge found it reasonable that the company had not locked in financing for facilities the state had already shut down. “It is not appropriate to strip a licensee of its options and then use the lack of exercising those options against it,” she wrote.

The department’s second argument concerned leadership. Minnesota law requires every assisted living facility to employ a licensed director who is registered with the state board as the director of record, and it was undisputed that none was registered after August 12.

The judge did not excuse that. She rejected the company’s suggestion that approval of its replacement director’s application was a mere formality, and she found that the facilities were in violation of the statute.

But a violation is not the same as an emergency. A department official conceded at the hearing that when a facility’s only problem is a missing registered director, the department’s standard practice is to issue a correction order telling the facility to fix it. The judge found the department never showed why this case called for something far more drastic than its usual response.

The company’s explanation for the gap was a leadership transition. On August 13, the day after Dukuly’s registration lapsed, Tabitha Vickie Briggs, a registered nurse who holds an assisted living director license, applied for a Shared Director License that would allow her to lead all three facilities. Dukuly’s brother-in-law and company coverage administrator, Sheikh Dukuly, who also holds a director license, was on site, as was Komara, who holds one too. In effect, Golden Touch argued, three licensed directors were working at or available to the facilities even though the paperwork had not caught up.

Piling On

The department’s strongest card was supposed to be the combination: that a leadership gap plus a revenue disruption together created the danger. The judge was unpersuaded.

She called one element of the department’s argument “disingenuous.” The department had pointed out that staff did not present a six-month plan to stay operational after payments stopped. But the company had not yet received any withhold notice, and the investigator never asked for such a plan.

She also observed that the investigator spoke with Sheikh Dukuly, Briggs, one resident and three unlicensed staff members, but did not ask staff how often they were present at the facilities and did not ask to speak with Sekou Dukuly. And she found it unclear when the department first became concerned about the director issue. The record suggested officials did not view it as an imminent threat until the DHS notice arrived, a notice still 33 days from taking effect.

Her conclusion on the combined theory was blunt: even taken together, the record did not establish an imminent risk of harm to residents.

What the Judge Did Not Say

The ruling is favorable, but it is not a clean sweep, and an accurate account must include its limits.

The judge sided with the department on the underlying violation, finding that the facilities lacked a registered director after August 12. She also noted that the company’s explanation for staff confusion about who was in charge did not fully hold up. One staff member told the investigator Sekou Dukuly was the director, another named Sheikh Dukuly, and none named Briggs.

More importantly, the ruling does not touch the DHS fraud investigation. The judge made no findings about the allegations, and nothing in her report lifts the payment withhold, which is a separate action by a separate agency. The department’s notices of revocation, which are also separate, are likewise outside this case.

And the recommendation itself is not binding. Both sides have ten calendar days to file exceptions. The Commissioner then has ten business days after the record closes to issue a final decision, which she may adopt, reject or modify. Any party can then appeal under Minnesota’s administrative procedure act.

The judge also observed that because no residents are currently in Golden Touch’s care, there was insufficient evidence to keep the suspension in place.

Why Supporters Call It Vindication

For Dukuly’s supporters, those caveats do not diminish what the ruling establishes. A state agency exercised one of its most powerful emergency tools, shutting down three licensed homes without a prior hearing, and an independent judge reviewing the evidence found the agency had not justified it.

That matters in a field where a license is the entire business. An immigrant entrepreneur who spends years building a regulated care operation can see it dismantled in a single afternoon, with residents relocated and revenue stopped, long before any hearing takes place. The expedited hearing process exists to check that power, and in this case the check worked in Golden Touch’s favor.

Members of the Liberian community, which has deep roots in the Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center area, have followed the case with intense interest. In social media posts after the ruling, supporters described it as proof of Dukuly’s resilience and credited his faith. One close friend wrote that “God has the final say,” and asked critics who had celebrated the company’s troubles why they had not prayed for his success instead.

That friend’s post also reflects how personal the case became. When the suspensions were first reported, some in the community reacted with gloating or gossip, a response that stung the family and its allies. The judge’s findings have, for now, given them an answer grounded in the record rather than in rumor.

For a man whose supporters say he has endured the storm with his head up, that finding is not the end of the road. But it is the first time the record has spoken, and what it said was that the state moved too soon.

The Minnesota Department of Health and Golden Touch Health Care did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

MONROVIA — Days after a jury at Criminal Court “C” adjudged her guilty in the Saudi Rice corruption case, former National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) official Rosetta L. Gbassay Bowah has rejected the verdict, declaring her innocence in a Facebook post.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

In the lengthy statement, she thanked family, friends, colleagues and fellow clergy for an outpouring of prayers, encouragement, solidarity and love since Friday. She said the support had “renewed my confidence in the face of circumstances that were clearly intended to break me.” As the legal process continues, she said, she wishes to reassure her supporters of her “absolute innocence” and her confidence that “the truth will ultimately prevail.”

Central to her statement is an allegation that she was pressured to cooperate with the prosecution. Gbassay Bowah said that if she has committed any “crime,” it is that she faithfully performed her lawful duties in accordance with her Terms of Reference and the obligations of her office.

She added that her other “crime” may be that she refused what she described as persistent efforts by her accuser and the prosecutors to persuade her to “cooperate” by serving as a State witness.

The post offers no evidence for the claim, and it has not been independently verified. Her position, however, was unequivocal. “As a servant of the living God, an ordained Baptist Reverend,” she said, she could never conspire to testify falsely against any person or speak of matters about which she has no knowledge. “My conscience is not for sale,” she wrote.

She described the personal cost she believes such a compromise would carry. No temporary advantage, she said, is worth “inviting the curse that follows bearing false witness against the innocent.”

That burden, she said, is one she will not bring upon herself, her children or future generations. Regardless of “pressure, intimidation, or schemes,” she said, she remains steadfast in her conviction that God, “in His own time and according to His perfect will,” will vindicate her.

Her statement reads as much like a sermon as a legal defense. Gbassay Bowah, who is an ordained Baptist Reverend, wrote that her faith is “built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, His blood, and His righteousness,” and that it gives her the courage to persevere “through this difficult chapter.” She framed the ordeal as a season of trial and tribulation.

Her appeal then widened from her own situation to the state of the nation. Addressing her “co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord,” she urged fellow clergy to keep praying for Liberia, noting that “it is one thing to preach about injustice, and quite another to experience it personally.”

She warned that the country stands at a “critical crossroads” and risks a “vicious cycle of bitterness, vengeance, political persecution, and score-settling masquerading as justice.” Liberia, she said, needs healing, redemption and a renewed commitment to the rule of law, fairness and national unity. She called on citizens to resist the temptation to weaponize political differences, and to work toward a future in which justice is impartial, truth is honored and every citizen is treated with dignity and respect.

Her words arrive against a very different reading of Friday’s outcome. In a statement dated Oct. 10, the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) welcomed the verdicts as a “significant milestone” in the Government of Liberia’s efforts to combat corruption and protect public resources.

According to AREPT, the jury adjudged eight of the 13 defendants guilty, including former Foreign Affairs Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah and former Internal Affairs Minister Varney A. Sirleaf. Three defendants were acquitted, and the jury returned inconclusive verdicts on two others.

The case arose from AREPT’s investigation into the alleged misappropriation of 29,412 bags of rice, valued at about US$500,000, donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023 for disaster victims and vulnerable Liberians. The indictment alleged that 25,054 of those bags were unlawfully diverted or misapplied.

According to the jury tally, Gbassay Bowah was adjudged guilty of Theft of Property, Misapplication of Entrusted Property and Criminal Conspiracy. Jurors were hung on the counts of Abuse of Office and Economic Sabotage.

AREPT Chairman Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin said the Taskforce is ready for any appeal. “We are prepared,” he said, adding that if the defendants go to the Supreme Court, AREPT will “equally go there and defeat them there.” The Taskforce also said it respects the judicial process and the rights of all parties, including the right to appeal.

DUA TOWN, Kokoyah District — Representative Prince K. Koinah has donated 50 bundles of 32-gauge zinc, six cartons of roofing nails, 15 cartons of wire nails and a chainsaw to more than 100 residents of Dua Town whose homes were destroyed during a violent incident in August.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

The chainsaw is intended to help the community cut wood for the rebuilding work. The materials are meant to help residents rebuild and repair the damaged houses, restoring shelter and dignity to those affected.

The assistance follows an incident on Aug. 27, 2026, in which Kennedy Nyah, a resident of Kpanquoi Town, and his wife, Ruth Nyah, reportedly drowned in the St. John River at a nearby crossing point. The deaths heightened tensions between aggrieved relatives of the couple from Kpanquoi and residents of Dua Town. The relatives confronted Dua Town residents, and at least 10 houses were destroyed, leaving several people homeless.

Representative Koinah has denounced violence in its entirety. He called on all Kokoyah citizens and residents to avoid acts that undermine peaceful coexistence.

The lawmaker also commended the people of Dua Town for exercising restraint during the unrest. He thanked local authorities and the Liberia National Police for restoring law and order.

The items were presented by Decker D. Paye, chief of staff in the lawmaker’s office. The donation is in addition to an earlier package of 20 bags of 25-kilogram rice and L$30,000 given to the affected community.

Separately, Representative Koinah has made available 10 additional bundles of 32-gauge zinc to the Beawee Public School in Beawee Town.

GBARNGA, Bong County — The competition starts before the first lesson. Pupils arriving each morning at Chief Compound Public School look first for somewhere to sit: a chair, a gap on a broken bench, anything. Those who come after the seats are gone have one option. The floor.

By Selma Lomax|  selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

The school, which enrolls more than 1,500 pupils, is not in a remote village beyond the reach of government. It stands in Gbarnga, the administrative and political capital of Bong County, within easy reach of the government offices and education authorities charged with the welfare of the county’s children.

Inside some classrooms, children sit for hours on bare concrete, balancing exercise books on their knees as they try to follow lessons. Others crowd onto broken benches, squeeze onto whatever furniture is still usable, or bring chairs from home.

What they are asking for is modest. Not computers, air conditioners or science laboratories — just chairs and desks that would let them sit properly, write comfortably and concentrate.

“We are in the city, not somewhere that people cannot reach,” one pupil said. “Our school is here in Gbarnga, and the people who are responsible for education are also in this city. We see government offices and other important people around us, so sometimes we ask ourselves why we have to sit on the floor to learn. We are children, and all we are asking for is a chair so that we can sit properly, write our lessons and concentrate. We want to believe that somebody will hear us.”

FrontPageAfrica is not identifying the pupils interviewed for this story because they are minors.

The distance between the school and the offices that could help it can be counted in streets. The distance between the problem and a solution, the pupils suggest, is far greater.

For the children, the shortage is not a policy abstraction. It greets them every morning — and, they say, it may be keeping some of their classmates away altogether.

Friends who stopped coming

Pupils spoke of friends who no longer attend school, and they tied those absences to money: parents who could not afford to buy a chair.

FrontPageAfrica could not verify the claim against attendance records, and its scale is unknown. But it reflects a pressure familiar to many Liberian households. When income is thin, every expense competes with every other. A chair is not food. It is not medicine or transport fare. In the hard choices poor families are forced to make, a chair can lose.

The pupils spoke of their absent classmates less with anger than with a sense of loss, the way people talk about a friend who has moved away. What they want, they said, is for everyone to learn together.

A desk in the doorway

The staff room tells its own story. Its floor is pitted with holes, and a handful of chairs sit clustered in one corner. During a visit by FrontPageAfrica, a female teacher searched for somewhere to set down her lesson notes. She later carried pupils’ exercise books to the classroom doorway — the only place with enough light to read them.

Teachers who improvise this way keep the school running, but the improvisation has a cost. A teacher straining to read a child’s handwriting in a doorway is more likely to rush her feedback, and it is the child who loses.

An admission from the county

Asked by FrontPageAfrica about conditions at the school, County Education Officer David Boakai said he had not been aware of them. His office, he said, would need to look into the situation, particularly the learning environment and the shortage of chairs and other basic facilities.

His candor offers a clear starting point — and a commitment against which progress can be measured. But it also exposes a gap. Chief Compound is not hidden beyond a river crossing. It sits in the county seat and serves well over a thousand children. If its condition had not reached the county’s top education official, then somewhere between the classroom and his office, the system’s ability to notice has broken down.

A proper assessment would not be complicated: count the pupils and the usable seats; separate what can be repaired from what must be replaced; inspect classroom space and the condition of the buildings. Those figures would give parents something to hold on to — and officials something to answer for.

What a chair carry

It is tempting to treat a shortage of chairs as a small matter beside Liberia’s larger struggles. But small things can carry large meanings. A chair holds up a child’s body so that the mind can do its work. It marks out a space that belongs, however briefly, to one pupil. It tells a child that the school expected her and made room.

Take the chair away, and the message reverses. The child becomes someone to be accommodated by improvisation, someone whose comfort is optional. The pupils at Chief Compound have noticed. What they ask in return is neither grand nor unusual: equal treatment, a seat beside their friends, and an end to writing on their knees.

Who will stand up?

The pupils have done what they can. They have described their classrooms, named what they lack, and trusted a visiting reporter to carry their words further than they could.

The responsibility now lies with others. The county has promised to look. Parents could organize. Donors, civic groups and local leaders could each take a share. However, the response takes shape, it will be judged by a simple test: whether, one morning soon, a child in Gbarnga walks into a classroom and finds a seat waiting.

Until then, the children of Chief Compound will keep adapting, as children do. The question is how long the school system intends to rely on their patience.

According to the charge sheet, investigators reviewed bank transfers, Zelle, Cash App and other electronic payments showing the couple paid US$18,741 toward the price. Mr. Wowoh, however, admitted to investigators that he received only US$9,200 from Mrs. Acquah as part payment, the charge sheet says

MONROVIA – The Liberia National Police has charged Eric W. Wowoh, founder and executive director of the civil society organization Change Agent Network, with theft of property, receiving money under false pretences and criminal conveyance of land, in connection with a land transaction involving a couple based in the United States.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

According to a police charge sheet dated October 6, 2026, Mr. Wowoh was arrested on September 16, 2026, by Detective Joseph S. Nagbe at the LNP headquarters in Monrovia. The document lists no accomplices and says the case is to be forwarded to court.

Complaint filed through lawyer

The case stems from a complaint filed on September 11, 2026, by Mrs. Rebekah Acquah and her husband, Mr. John Acquah, who reside in Rhode Island. They reported the matter to the police’s Crime Services Department through their lawyer, Atty. Stephen B. Lavelah of the Kailando and Associates Law Firm.

The couple alleges that Mr. Wowoh, who is associated with the organization, received US$18,741 toward the purchase of a property valued at US$30,500. The property consists of two lots of land with a structure under construction in the Rock Church Community, Duazon, Margibi County.

How the deal allegedly unfolded

Police say the Acquahs approached Mr. Wowoh in 2024 to help them find land in Liberia. In December 2024, he allegedly agreed to sell them part of his own property: US$5,500 for the two lots and US$25,000 for the house, totaling US$30,500.

According to the charge sheet, investigators reviewed bank transfers, Zelle, Cash App and other electronic payments showing the couple paid US$18,741 toward the price. Mr. Wowoh, however, admitted to investigators that he received only US$9,200 from Mrs. Acquah as part payment, the document says.

Police say that in February 2025 Mr. Wowoh handed the couple the legal documents for the property, including the administrator’s deed, warranty deed and transferred deeds. The charge sheet describes the deed as valid and legitimate.

But investigators allege that he later secretly retrieved the same documents and sold the property to another buyer, acting with criminal intent to resell it. The charge sheet also notes that Mrs. Acquah paid US$482.34 in taxes to the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) for the property.

Charges and legal basis

After its investigation, the police resolved to charge Mr. Wowoh with theft of property/receiving money under false pretense and criminal conveyance of land. The charges are brought under Chapter 15, Subchapter A, Sections 15.5 and 15.23 of the Revised Penal Code of the Republic of Liberia.

Concerns for civil society

The charge against the head of a civil society organization is likely to draw attention to the conduct of leaders in Liberia’s non-governmental sector. The charge sheet does not say the alleged transaction involved the organization’s funds or activities, and it does not accuse the organization itself of wrongdoing.

The document was signed by Commander-in-Charge R. Smith. It records Mr. Wowoh as a Liberian of Lorma descent, born in Fissibu Town, Lofa County. Mr. Wowoh could not be reached for comment.

MONROVIA – Global Tracking & Maritime Solutions Liberia Inc. (GTMS Liberia) has instructed lawyers to begin civil and criminal proceedings against two men it accuses of falsely presenting themselves as senior officers of the company, while warning the public, customers and business partners to have no dealings with them.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

The company named the men as Presley S. Tenwah and Elvis D. Johnson. In a statement, management said it was alarmed by their purported appointments as General Manager-Liberia and as Public Relations Executive and Operations Manager, respectively.

According to GTMS Liberia, the appointments were allegedly made by Sahr H. W. Ngegba, who claims to be a Director of the company. Management said he has no such authority.

“Not associated with the company”

The company said Mr. Ngegba is not associated with GTMS Liberia in any capacity. It stated that he does not appear in its corporate structure, staff register or list of authorised officers, and that he holds no position as director.

“These appointments were issued by a person with no authority to act on behalf of this Company,” the statement said in substance, describing Mr. Tenwah and Mr. Johnson as impostors.

Distance from UK entity

GTMS Liberia also moved to separate itself from GTMS-UK. It said it is neither a subsidiary of nor in partnership with the British company, which it says has been wound up and is currently undergoing liquidation in the United Kingdom.

Management described the two entities as entirely separate and distinct. It further alleged that the appointments were a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and to exploit GTMS Liberia’s name and reputation in order to shield the UK entity, which it says is under investigation by British authorities over alleged administrative failures and serious financial irregularities.

Public warning

The company issued what it called a strict warning to the general public, its customers and its business partners. They were told not to transact any business with Mr. Tenwah or Mr. Johnson in the name of GTMS Liberia. Management said any dealings with the two men would not be recognised as binding on the company.

Legal proceedings

GTMS Liberia said it has instructed the Global Lead Counsel of AFDASA Global to immediately commence civil and criminal proceedings against Mr. Tenwah and Mr. Johnson. They are accused of falsely representing themselves as officers of the company, misleading the public, and causing significant operational disruption and reputational harm.

“We will pursue all available legal remedies to protect our name, our stakeholders, and the public,” the company said.

The statement did not provide details of the alleged disruption to operations or say when the legal filings would be made. Mr. Ngegba, Mr. Tenwah and Mr. Johnson could not be reached for comment.

MONROVIA — In Liberian public life, a man’s word is currency, and a man’s oath is something close to a mortgage on his name. Yekeh Kolubah took out a heavy one. Now, with a press conference set for October 11, the expelled lawmaker is being asked whether he is about to default.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

‘The Street General’

Long before he held a legislative seat, Kolubah was a man of the street. His brand was never polish. It was volume, defiance and the ability to put a crowd where he wanted it. Politicians courted him for that reason, and none more usefully than Joseph Boakai.

By Kolubah’s own telling, the call came from Boakai’s farm. Former President George Weah was about to announce a political movement, and Boakai wanted the street answered. “Yekeh, you need to get into the streets,” Kolubah recalls being told. He says he went, and in 2023 he helped carry Boakai and the Unity Party past Weah.

Then, he says, the favor was forgotten. “Today, they have turned around and made me their enemy,” he complained in remarks he made while still in the House. He claimed that people who had worked with him were told to “go and support Joseph Boakai,” and he asked a question that has hung over the feud ever since: “Does President Joseph Boakai even know my true value?”

A quick turn

The honeymoon was short. Within four months of the new government taking office, Kolubah had become one of its loudest critics, accusing it of failing to fight corruption and repeating the vices it had condemned under Weah. The ruling establishment came to see him as a nemesis. The opposition, especially members of Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change, embraced him.

He then did something few expected: he publicly apologized to Weah, saying he had not known Boakai was “more corrupt.” He promised to help ensure that Boakai and the Unity Party do not win in 2029. It was the language of a man not just leaving a political marriage but burning the house down behind him.

April 17

Almost three years into his second term, the House voted. On April 17, 2026, 49 lawmakers expelled Kolubah, following controversy over remarks attributed to him about the Liberia-Guinea border dispute. It remains one of the most debated decisions of the 55th Legislature.

For Kolubah, the explanation was never about a border. He blamed Boakai for using the Legislature to engineer his removal, and the opposition backed that reading, calling it punishment for criticizing the presidency. Government officials rejected it flatly, saying he was removed for wrongdoing. Kolubah took the fight to the Supreme Court, where the full bench has yet to rule and his District 10 seat remains vacant.

The word “delete”

Expulsion did not soften him. After appearing before the Supreme Court on April 29, he told reporters he would “delete” President Boakai. He never said what he meant or what he planned to do. He also called Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Koung “former leaders,” as though the offices had already changed hands.

Then he went on the road. He toured almost all of Liberia’s 15 counties, and along the way he was widely reported to have sworn the oath that now defines the story: that the day he reconciles with Boakai, it is he who killed his mother. The exact wording has circulated in different versions, but the weight of it is not in dispute. In Liberian culture, few vows go deeper.

The turn

Then, three weeks before his announced return, a Facebook post from his media consultant said the former lawmaker was set to reconcile with the President. It cited his frustration with the “disintegration and unseriousness” of the opposition. His PRO, Samson Moseray, reportedly confirmed that a meeting with Boakai was being planned, saying Kolubah had chosen to “mend fences and put Liberia first.”

Kolubah fed the speculation by promising to return to the country on October 10 and address the media. It was classic Kolubah: a date, a stage and a mystery.

Two interviews, two moods

His two interviews this week offered very different readings. On Sunday, the Spoon TV show asked him bluntly whether he was coming home to beg the President for forgiveness. Kolubah’s opening line was that he regrets his relationship with Boakai. Peacemakers rarely begin that way, and that there was little softening as the conversation went on. On the border dispute, Kolubah did not retreat, maintaining that the land Liberia occupies belongs to Guinea.

On Tuesday, before appearing on OK FM’s Morning Rush, he posted his message. “There is nothing wrong with reconciliation,” it began. It spoke of division as one of the reasons the country remains where it is, of healthcare, roads, infrastructure and education, and of choosing “peace, dialogue, and national development over division.” It did not name Boakai.

On the program, host Clarence Jackson asked whether he was ready to reconcile with the President. “Anything is possible in this world,” Kolubah said. Asked about the oath, he deflected: “Wait for the press conference on Sunday, October 11, and see the outcome.”

Nothing is settled. No agreement has been made public, and the President has not given his account of any talks. All that is known is that on October 11, Kolubah has promised to speak.

Liberians who have watched him for years know better than to bet on the obvious. This is a man who has been an ally, a critic, an exile from his own seat and a mystery, sometimes within the same year. Whether Sunday brings a handshake, a new fight or a surprise nobody has predicted, the oath is the part the country will remember.

MONROVIA – Liberian politics has no shortage of dramatic turnarounds, but few would have raised eyebrows like this one. Yekeh Kolubah, the outspoken former Montserrado County District 10 representative, was said to be preparing to sit down with President Joseph Boakai, the leader he backed in 2023 and later turned on.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com 

The rumor ran for days. Then Kolubah went on air and, intentionally or not, poured cold water on it.

A Rumor with Official Fingerprints

The talk did not come from nowhere. It began with a Facebook post by Kolubah’s own media consultant, which said the former lawmaker was ready to reconcile with the President. The post blamed his frustration on what the office called the “disintegration and unseriousness” of the opposition.

His PRO, Samson Moseray, reportedly backed it up. A meeting with the President was being arranged, he said, and Kolubah had chosen to “mend fences and put Liberia first.”

Kolubah himself added fuel. He has repeatedly said he will return to Liberia on October 10 to address the media on the matter. For a politician known for theatrical announcements, that was enough to convince many that something big was coming.

Sunday Night on Spoon TV

On Sunday, the Spoon Show gave him the chance to settle the question. The host asked bluntly whether he was coming home to “beg the president for forgiveness.” Kolubah’s opening line was that he regrets his relationship with President Boakai. Peacemakers rarely start that way. Expressing regret over a past association is the language of someone closing a chapter, not reopening it. And as the conversation went on, there was little sign of the softening one would expect from a man about to extend a hand.

The Statement That Started It All

To understand why reconciliation looks so hard, one has to go back to April 17, 2026, when 49 lawmakers voted to expel Kolubah from the House of Representatives. The move followed uproar over remarks attributed to him about the Liberia–Guinea border dispute. It remains one of the most debated decisions of the 55th Legislature.

On Spoon TV, the host pressed him on the subject. Kolubah held his ground and maintained that the land Liberia occupies belongs to Guinea.

In other words, the position that cost him his seat is one he has just repeated in public. It is hard to picture a reconciliation that leaves that issue untouched. If Kolubah has not changed his view, and his words suggest he has not, then the cause of the breakup has not gone away. It has simply been restated.

An Oath That Raises the Stakes

The most dramatic piece of the puzzle is a pledge Kolubah is reported to have made. According to those accounts, he has said that the day he reconciles with President Boakai, it will be him who killed his mother.

Whatever one makes of the rhetoric, the vow changes the calculation. Most political disputes can be patched up with a communiqué, a handshake, or a quiet word from respected elders. A promise that invokes a mother’s memory is different. Breaking it would hand his opponents a weapon they could use for years. For a figure who has built his brand on defiance, it could cost more than any seat in the Legislature.

Weariness With Allies, not a Change of Heart

Since his expulsion, Kolubah has toured the country alongside the opposition and spoken harshly of the government. His camp’s recent message about the opposition’s disintegration points to growing disillusionment with that coalition.

That could explain why the reconciliation story gained traction. A politician who feels let down by his allies might start looking for a way out. But there is a difference between being fed up with friends and warming to a former benefactor turned adversary. So far, nothing Kolubah has said publicly suggests he has made that leap.

The Empty Chair in District 10

The saga also unfolds against a constitutional backdrop that critics say is being ignored. Article 37 of the 1986 Constitution says that when a legislative seat falls vacant through death, resignation, expulsion or otherwise, the presiding officer must notify the National Elections Commission within 30 days. The Commission must then hold a by-election within 90 days, unless general elections fall within that window.

Nearly 170 days have passed since the expulsion. Commentators say no replacement has been chosen and that the presiding officer, Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon, has apparently not notified the Commission. For residents of District 10, that means months without a voice in the House. Some observers suspect the vacancy may be part of the political bargaining, a seat left open while the larger drama plays out.

There are reasons to take the reconciliation talk seriously. It came from Kolubah’s own office. It was framed around national interest. Kolubah has a history with the Unity Party, and the October 10 media address suggests an announcement of some kind is on the way.

But the case against is stronger. He opened his Spoon TV interview with regret over his relationship with the President. He has refused to retreat on the border claim. He has reportedly bound himself with a deeply personal vow. And every grievance that produced the split remains in place.

The most likely outcome, if anything happens at all, is something smaller than a true reconciliation: a conversation framed around peace and national unity, with neither side conceding much. A full return to the President’s camp would require Kolubah to unsay nearly everything he said on Sunday night.

On October 10, the country will find out which Kolubah steps off the plane: the peacemaker his office has described or the combatant who spoke on Spoon TV. For now, his own words are the best evidence available, and they point firmly toward no.