-Calls Yekeh Kolubah's Border Remarks "Betrayal," Not Free Speech
- Former Liberian lawmaker and political commentator David Kortie has launched a sharp rebuttal against ex-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, rejecting her assertion that the House of Representatives' action against Rep. Yekeh Kolubah constituted an assault on free speech.
Speaking in an interview with The New Dawn, Kortie argued that Kolubah's controversial statements on the Liberia-Guinea border dispute crossed the red line from political expression into what he described as a direct affront to Liberia's sovereignty.
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According to Kortie, the uproar stemmed from remarks allegedly made by Rep. Kolubah concerning the disputed Sorlumba border area in Lofa County, in which the lawmaker reportedly claimed the territory belongs to Guinea and went so far as to urge Guinean authorities to "take their land."
Such comments, Kortie insisted, were particularly damaging because they came from a sitting member of the Liberian Legislature.
"I am surprised that the former president would refer to the expulsion of a traitor from the Legislature as illegal," Kortie said, stressing that no elected official has the right to undermine the nation's territorial integrity under the guise of free speech.
Kortie reminded Mrs. Sirleaf that during her first and second terms as president, two House Speakers, Messrs. Edwin Snowe and Alex Tyler, were removed from their positions.
According to him, the Executive Mansion at the time did not denounce those removals as undemocratic, amid widespread public belief that Sirleaf herself played a decisive role in their ouster.
Turning to governance under the current administration, Kortie praised President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, saying Liberia is witnessing visible improvements in both management and service delivery.
He cited what he described as improved sanitation in Monrovia, particularly in the congested Waterside market area, claiming that the capital's streets are no longer littered with human waste, a condition he said was prevalent during the Sirleaf era.
"What Liberians -- including you -- should be doing now is commending the government for the unprecedented and comprehensive development initiatives underway," Kortie said.
He pointed to the historic US$1.2 billion national budget, expanded road construction and rehabilitation, intensified anti-corruption and anti-drug efforts, improved electricity supply, and better availability of petroleum products.
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Kortie also listed major initiatives he praised, including the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, a national reference laboratory, construction of overhead bridges, acquisition of 285 yellow machines, improved living conditions for the Armed Forces of Liberia, the controversial MRU Presidential Center, the reburial of former presidents William R. Tolbert Jr. and Samuel Doe, the creation of the Diaspora Commission, a new Justice Ministry complex, and the Liberia Standards Authority laboratory.
Reiterating his position on the Kolubah matter, Kortie maintained that the controversial lawmaker was not punished for speaking his mind, but for what he termed a grave act of national disloyalty.
Asked whether he has visited former President Sirleaf since she left office, Kortie responded bluntly: "No, it is not time yet."
When reminded that he had previously visited former President Charles Taylor twice in Calabar, Nigeria, Kortie replied tersely, "Yes -- it was time."
