Ahmednasir Abdullahi claims Gladys Shollei 'did not follow procedure'

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi on Wednesday evening accused suspended Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei of trying to buy a building for the Judiciary without following proper procedure.

Mr Abdullahi who is the chairman of the Finance Committee at the Judicial Service Commission claims that Mrs Shollei had informed him that she intended to purchase the building from Postal Corporation for Sh900 million, when no one in the JSC had been informed.

In an interview with K24 on Wednesday evening, Mr Abdullahi alleged that he later found out that the building was in fact being bought without consultation.

“I was alarmed because it was not in our budget. The Chief Justice’s not aware, nobody is aware. So I brought that issue to the Judiciary,” he said.

He added: “She told me that she is buying from Postal Corporation then I told her to stop it. I called a friend of mine who sits with the Board of the Postal Corporation. I called him 'Are you aware of such an issue?' He said 'Yes! We’ve had very fruitful discussions with Shollei. We have agreed that we will sell that house for Sh700 (Million). I was very alarmed because it is not in our budget.'”

“I am not the kind of person who says that stop this I will bring another one. Why would I bring another house from Mombasa? Is there a house that costs Sh900 million in Mombasa?”

The lawyer who represents the Law Society of Kenya at the JSC made the sensational claim shortly after Mrs Shollei appeared before the House Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs where she claimed relations between them were frosty.

“I have had difficult relations with Mr Ahmednassir for the past several months now. He openly told me to forget about getting the building, instead telling me nitaleta ingine (I will bring another one),” she told the committee chaired by URP MP for Anabkoi MP Sam Chepkonga.

Mrs Shollei was on Monday sent on 15-days compulsory leave by the commission to pave way for an investigation into her conduct.

But the lawyer denied there were any sour relations with the Chief Registrar.

“I have no problem with Gladys Shollei; I have worked with her very closely for the past two or three years since we employed her as a Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.”

“My committee works very closely with her on matters of the judiciary. Of course there is this issue that cropped up lately on whether she should be investigated or not. But before that, there’s not one day that we ever disagreed on one issue.”

CLEAN JUDICIARY

Instead, the Senior Counsel who is a former LSK Chairman argued that his has always been a determination to ensure there is a clean Judiciary and that he would not relent to fight for it.

“When you go against the grain as I have done, of course you know there are consequences. It is a course I have adapted. It is a public job I do. I know that I get bullets back, but I soldier on.”

“What we are investigating here is money that belongs to Kenyans. That is why we are taking the position we have taken. There is nobody in Kenya who is bullet proof.”

When she appeared before the Parliamentary Committee, Ms Shollei charged that three commissioners including Mr Abdullahi were interfering with her work. She accused Justice Mohammed Warsame of trying to force her into employing his cronies and leveled another charge at Ms Emily Ominde of bossing her.

“She fought me from day one. I have written several letters to the Chief Justice with regard to my role as Chief Registrar. She has at many times attempted to instruct me to do certain duties, which I think is not right.”

“I am a no-nonsense individual who does not entertain laziness even to my own children. I am very clear in what I want. I work very hard, I am respectful, but above all, I don’t take nonsense.”

The raging debate has been whether the Chief Registrar should have been sent on compulsory leave especially since she claims she was not informed of the accusations and given time to respond. But Mr Abdullahi told K24: “This is an employer dealing with one of its employees according to the laid-down procedures.”