Has the Government of Liberia paid all benefits and salaries to Koffa, suspended Legislators of the Minority bloc, and staffers?
Claim: “The Government of Liberia has paid all legitimate benefits and salary arrears owed to Speaker Koffa, affected colleagues, and staff.”
Source: Shine Liberia
Verdict: Unproven, embattled Speaker Koffa, staff, and affected legislators
Full Text: Shine Liberia is a leading online Facebook blog in Liberia. The blog was posted about seven days ago (May 1, 2025), stating that the government of Liberia has paid all legitimate benefits and salary arrears owed to embattled Speaker Koffa, his suspended colleagues, and staff.
But the post was later deleted a few hours later. Before the blog was deleted, the post attracted 221 reactions, 117 comments, and five shares.
For months, Koffa has faced contention from his colleagues at the level of the lower house of the legislature, leading to a split or two factions (pro- and anti-Koffa legislators).
At a point, Koffa was allegedly stripped of his benefits and entitlements in December 2024, after months of political and constitutional battles at the House of Representatives, where most of his colleagues planned to remove him.
After months of legal battle amid the somewhat ambiguity of the Supreme Court of Liberia's first ruling in the matter on December 6, 2024, which saw both sides claiming victories,.
Embattled Speaker Koffa and minority members took flight to the court with a bill of information, praying the court for a declaratory judgment, amongst other things, a judgment that was handed down by the honorable court after five months, declaring Koffa as the legitimate speaker.
The Supreme Court of Liberia, which holds judicial powers and is the final arbiter of justice in the Republic of Liberia, and its decision is binding and final.
Verification: Menipakei Dumoe, director of political affairs in the office of embattled Speaker Koffa, was contacted regarding the claim, and he refuted it.
“Well, I can state very clearly to you that not a dime has been paid. The Supreme Court ruling came out a few weeks ago; there have been no substantial steps taken to comply with it.
The Speaker has received no compensation; none of us working with him has, and none of his colleagues has. As far as I am concerned, that entire report is fake.”
We also contacted Shine Liberia regarding the claim made, and this is what they have to say:
“That post was rectified; the political officer made a mistake. Koffa was paid as a representative, not as a speaker, but he rejected it. Those suspended representatives receive two salaries as well. We later reached out to the speaker through his new number and took the post down long before the same day.”
We also checked the post from the political affairs officer, which Shine Liberia referenced, and didn't see any evidence to confirm their claim.
We also contacted Winston Blyden, media consultant to Representative Edward P. Flomo and director of radio at Bana FM. Blyen refutes the claim, saying, “That is a lie; they have not received any benefits. Abu has not received his benefits; Flomo has not received his benefits. That's a lie.”
Conclusion: The claim made by Shine Liberia that the government of Liberia has paid all legitimate benefits and salary arrears owed to Speaker Koffa, affected colleagues, and staff is unproven.
