Liberia’s former speaker and three other members of the House of Representatives have been released from prison after paying a combined bond of $440,000 (£325,000).
Jonathan Fonati Koffa, Abu Kamara, Dixon Seboe and Jacob Debee were charged over their alleged role in the burning of the Capitol building last December.
All four men face several charges, including arson, criminal mischief, attempted murder and other alleged offences.
The huge blaze broke out at the parliament building a day after plans to remove Koffa as speaker sparked protests in the capital, Monrovia. Police value the damage at $8.6m.
On Friday, Liberian police said there were “credible links” to suggest Koffa was “strategically involved” in the incident. Koffa has previously denied any connection to the fire.
Lawmakers Kamara, Seboe and Debee – who are all members of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party – were detained alongside Koffa on Friday in connection with the case.
They spent a night in detention at the national police headquarters, before being transferred to the Monrovia Central Prison on Saturday, where they were held for two nights.
Representative Priscilla Cooper has also been charged, but was not detained due to ill-health.
The court has placed a travel ban on the accused pending the conclusion of the case.
The blaze on 18 December last year destroyed the entire joint chambers of the West African nation’s legislature. No one was inside the building at the time.
The day before had seen tense protests over the plans to remove Koffa, with demonstrators including an aide to former President George Weah arrested.
Several individuals, including Koffa and Representative Frank Saah Foko, were brought in for questioning by police.
Foko, a prominent figure in the House of Representatives, allegedly uploaded a video to Facebook in which he said: “If they want us to burn the chambers, we will burn it.”
Liberia’s House of Representatives has been beset by a long-running power struggle.
Koffa had been locked in a stand-off with his political opponents, with dozens of lawmakers voting for his impeachment last October over accusations of poor governance, corruption and conflicts of interest.
Although the bid to impeach him fell short of the two-thirds majority required, the group of 47 lawmakers who had voted for the move unilaterally appointed their own speaker.
Last month, Koffa resigned as speaker after months of political deadlock.
Source: bbc.com
