The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has appointed a new Chief Registrar of the Judiciary after the explosive fallout that led to the exit of Mrs Gladys Boss Shollei.
Newly appointed Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Ann Atieno Amadi
The JSC led by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga appointed former magistrate Ann Atieno Amadi to the challenging job, ending months of speculation about the next occupant of the powerful office.
In a statement sent to newsrooms yesterday, Dr Mutunga, who is also the President of the Supreme Court, announced they settled on Ms Amadi after a competitive recruitment process.
“Following a competitive recruitment process, the Judicial Service Commission at its meeting held on January 11, appointed Ann Atieno Amadi as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary,” said Mutunga yesterday.
Top officials at the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) lauded the appointment describing Amadi as ‘very experienced and thorough lawyer who understands the workings of the Judiciary’. “This is a very experienced lady,” LSK Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Mboya told The Standard on Sunday. “This is a good pick for the Judiciary,”
Amadi has been an advocate of the High Court since 1989 and has served as a magistrate in the Kenyan Judiciary for six years from 1991 and 1997.
Until May 2008, she was the Deputy Executive Director and Head of Litigation with the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) and also served as National Coordinator of the National legal Aid and Awareness Programme under the defunct Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs.
Other responsibilities
Mr Mboya said Amadi is competent and was currently the LSK coordinator for Supporting Access to Justice for Children and Youth in East Africa (SAJCEA), a programme aimed at increasing access to justice for children in the region.
“I have worked with her and I know she is up to the task,” Mboya noted.
Contacted yesterday, Amadi said that she was happy to get the job and exuded confidence of continuing with the judicial reforms.
“I am happy with the appointment,” said the former magistrate. “I know it’s a huge responsibility but I hope to pick up on the good work that has begun,” she told The Standard On Sunday.
Unlike many other appointees that must be vetted by Parliament, Amadi has no roadblocks on her way to the apex of the Judiciary.
She will be sworn-in by JSC Registrar Winfred Mokaya .
Interviews for the top job were however conducted in camera away from the public glare.
In his statement, Dr Mutunga said that when they first advertised for the position on 29 October last year, only 12 applications were received and the commission shortlisted seven candidates for interviews that were conducted on 18 and 19 December last year.
“In order to increase the pool for which to make selection the Judicial Service Commission in its meeting held on December 23, 2013 resolved that the position be re-advertised,” he explained.
“The position was re-advertised on 24 December 2013 and a total of five applicants were received. The commission shortlisted a total of five candidates for interviews that were conducted on 11 January 2014.”
After Shollei’s acrimonious exit from the Judiciary, the JSC appointed Kakai Kissinger as the Acting Chief Registrar.
However, the exit of Shollei from the helm of the Judiciary also opened trouble for the Mutunga led team after MPs approved a motion seeking to remove six commissioners from JSC.
President Uhuru subsequently suspended the six commissioners and formed a tribunal to probe their conduct. However, the High Court reversed the decision.
The predecessor
Shollei was fired over allegations that she misused Sh2.207 billion. She vehemently denied the allegations.
Mutunga said she had been fired for incompetence, misbehaviour, violation of the code of conduct for judicial officers, insubordination and violation of Chapter Six and Article 232 of the Constitution.
In a detailed statement, Mutunga said Shollei had admitted 33 allegations in which Sh1.7 billion “is at risk or has been lost”.
“Having fully appreciated the allegations served on her, and having read the responses, and noting that she elected to appear in person before the commission, and after in-depth interrogation of all issues, it is the unanimous resolution of the commission that the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary is hereby removed from office with immediate effect,” the CJ said.
But Shollei fought back and revealed her strained relations with the outspoken member of the commission, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Judge Mohammed Warsame and Chief Magistrate Emily Ominde.
She accused Abdullahi of interfering with the Judiciary’s search for an office block in Mombasa to host the Court of Appeal, intimating that the lawyer wanted to advance his interests and dictate the space that the institution should rent.
“When I told him of the house we wanted to rent, and which was proposed to us by the LSK Mombasa, he told me wachana na hiyo nyumba, nitakutafutia ingine (forget about that building, I will show you another one),” Shollei told MPs.
Later, it also appeared in a leaked email that there was power struggle at the top of the Judiciary.
In a detailed, six-page document titled “War Strategy: The 31-Point Plan”, Mutunga was advised to kick out Shollei in order to reassert his allegedly diminished role in the running of the Judiciary.
By FELIX OLICK, The Standard
