By Jerromie S. Walters
Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe has refuted reports of an organized effort by 17 senators to remove Senate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence from her position. He made the comments during a media engagement on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at his Capitol Hill office. The Bomi County Senator dismissed the allegations as baseless and contrary to the Senate’s principles of decorum and consultation.
The rumors, which surfaced earlier in the week, suggested that Bong County Senator Prince Moye was among a group of 17 senators who had signed a resolution to unseat Karnga-Lawrence, with Moye reportedly being considered as her replacement. However, Senator Snowe categorically denied these claims, emphasizing the Senate’s commitment to resolving internal disputes through formal and respectful processes.
“This is a house of elders; we don’t do that,” Snowe stated. “If we have a problem with our Protemp, we will hold a consultative meeting in her conference room and address the issue there. I can tell you today, no seventeen or even one senator is signing any document to remove the Protemp. Nothing like that is in the making. Don’t let anybody fool you. If it ever happens, never respect me.”
Snowe further criticized the notion of senators engaging in clandestine activities, equating such behavior to that of “small children.” He stressed that any decision to remove the Pro-Tempore would be conducted transparently on the Senate floor, with proper debate and due process.
“We don’t do that. Do we disagree? Yes! Are there things we may not be happy about? Yes! But to go like small children in the corner… in the car to sign resolution in friends’ offices or in people bathrooms. We don’t do it here. There is nothing of such. The day we don’t want our Protemp we will go on the floor. We will debate it and ask her to recuse herself… we will take the necessary action. We will not sign no resolution like small children. This is a house of elders,” he asserted.
The rumors had linked the alleged plot to the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) bloc. However, Senator Prince Moye, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways, Means, and Finance, also denied any involvement in such plans, calling the reports unfounded.
A flashback of the HOR Impasse
The controversy comes amid heightened political tensions in Liberia’s legislature. Under Article 47 of the 1986 Constitution, the Senate Pro-Tempore can be removed for cause by a two-thirds majority vote. Similar provisions exist for the House of Representatives, where recent leadership disputes have further fueled political instability.
In November 2024, Montserrado County District #11 Representative Richard Nagbe Koon was controversially elected as Speaker of the House, with allegations of bribery and procedural violations marring the process. Gbarpolu County Representative Luther Collins publicly admitted to receiving $15,000 as part of a scheme to secure support for the removal of former Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa. Koon, who has declared himself the “regime Speaker,” claimed that Koffa’s removal was driven by the government’s hesitancy to have an “opposition Speaker.”
Despite the swirling rumors, Senate Pro-Tempore Karnga-Lawrence, who also serves as the Political Leader of the Liberty Party (LP), has remained silent on the matter.
Though she supported the campaign of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, the Senate Pro-Tempore is the Political Leader of the Liberty Party (LP).
