I have read the FrontPageAfrica report by Emmanuel Weedee-Conway detailing the April 15, 2026 hearing of the House Committee on Rules, Order and Administration involving Representative Yekeh Y. Kolubah.

Let me be clear: If I were a member of the House of Representatives, or sitting on that Committee, I would have immediately pushed for a motion to cite Rep. Kolubah and his entire legal team — former Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, Cllr. Moriah Yeakula, and Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi for contempt and ordered their arrest.

What happened in that hearing room was not “due process.” It was disrespect, plain and simple. It was contempt of a constituted authority of the State.

1. No Lawyer Walks Out on a Court — So Why Walk Out on the Legislature?
   These same lawyers would never dare walk out on a Magisterial Court because the Magistrate told them their client must speak. They would not try it before a Circuit Judge. They would not try it before the Supreme Court, nor before the Judicial Inquiry Commission. Why? Because they know the result: immediate contempt, bench warrant, and custody until they purge themselves.

The House of Representatives, through its Committee on Rules, Order and Administration, is a constitutional body with investigative and disciplinary powers under Article 38 and Article 49 of the 1986 Constitution. When it sits to hear a complaint against a member, it is a quasi-judicial forum. The dignity of that body is no less than the dignity of any court in this Republic.

You do not walk out of a constituted authority because the Chair enforced House rules that witnesses speak for themselves and lawyers advise. That instruction from Chairman James Kolleh was lawful, procedural, and consistent with legislative practice in every parliament, including ours.

Was walking out an advocacy? I say No!Walking out was not advocacy. It was defiance. It was rude. It was contempt.

2. “Capitol Building Is Not My House,Then Respect the People’s House
   Rep. Kolubah told the press, “Capitol Building is not my house.” He is correct. It is not his house. It is the People’s House. And in the People’s House, there are rules. When you are accused of breach of oath, misconduct, and endangering state security, you answer. You don’t storm out because your lawyers were told to sit down.

Due process does not mean “due delay.” Due process does not mean “I speak only when my lawyer wants to speak for me.” Article 20(a) guarantees a hearing. He got a hearing. He was present. He was given the floor. He chose to walk out. That is waiver, not denial.

3. The Precedent This Sets Is Dangerous
   If lawyers can walk out of the Legislature when they disagree with procedure, what stops a criminal defendant from walking out of Criminal Court “C” when the Judge says your lawyer cannot testify for you”? What stops a litigant from walking out of the Supreme Court when the Chief Justice says we will not take new evidence today”?

The answer: contempt power. And the House has it. House Rule 48 and Legislative Contempt under the Legislative Law empower the House to punish contempt by fine or imprisonment. Had I been there, my motion would have been simple:

That the Sergeant-at-Arms be instructed to arrest Rep. Yekeh Kolubah and Cllrs. Kabineh Ja’neh, Moriah Yeakula, and Jonathan Massaquoi, and bring them before the bar of this Committee to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for disorderly behavior and disrespect to this constitutional body, and detained until they purge themselves of said contempt.

4. In My Opinion,Due Process Was Given But They Rejected It

Cllr. Yeakula said, “We cannot proceed… if we are not provided the evidence.” The Committee had the complaint from Rep. Sumo Mulbah and from IG Gregory Coleman. That is the evidence. In a legislative inquiry, you confront the accusation, not discovery” like a civil case or criminal case. The two-day extension had already been granted to get counsel. You don’t get five more days because you want to “guide your client. You guide him in the room, while he answers.

Cllr. Massaquoi said the Supreme Court is the final arbiter. Correct. But you get to the Supreme Court by following the process, not by walking out of it. Judicial review comes after the Legislature acts, not as an excuse to boycott the Legislature.

In Conclusion

Rep. Kolubah and his lawyers disrespected not just Chairman Kolleh, but the institution of the House of Representatives and, by extension, the Constitution that created it. You cannot demand respect for the Supreme Court while showing contempt for a coordinate branch of government.

If we allow lawyers to walk out of the Legislature today, tomorrow they will walk out of court. That is not law. That is lawlessness. And the remedy for lawlessness is contempt.

Had I been in that room, they would not have walked to the press. They would have walked to the Sergeant-at-Arms.

Garpue K. Wonlue
Roving City Solicitor/Prosecutor
Ministry of Justice