Now Shollei demands a public audit

A fresh hurdle faces the Judicial Service Commission investigations into the conduct of Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei after she threatened to go to court over an alleged internal plot to remove her from office.

Mrs Shollei, in a letter to Chief Justice Willy Mutunga dated September 27, 2013, says she has no faith in any disciplinary process that will be instituted against her as “the end game has already been decided”.

In the letter sent by lawyer Donald Kipkorir and seen by the Sunday Nation, the registrar wants a public audit of her office as well as that of the Judicial Service Commission carried out.

The audit, she says, should be done by a statutory body such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as well as Public Procurement Oversight Authority.

“In the absence of the above, our instructions are to proceed to court to seek appropriate orders,” says Mr Kipkorir.

Mrs Shollei, who is the Judiciary’s accounting officer, had been given 21 days to explain her alleged role in suspect financial transactions and questional human resource decisions that could have caused the tax payer Sh1.2billion in two years.

The JSC had also asked her to respond in three weeks to other allegations that include impropriety in procurement and insubordination.

The 21-day deadline expires on Wednesday and by yesterday, a source at Judiciary who cannot be named discussing a colleague said Mrs Shollei was yet to respond to the accusations.

Mr Kipkorir said in the letter that the entire process was a sham pointing out to last week’s leak of an alleged trove of emails exchanges between the CJ and other top officials in the Judiciary oulining a “war strategy” that was meant to engineer Mrs Shollei’s removal from the institution.

The process, he says, was to begin with her suspension, trumped-up charges, that would destroy her reputation in public before having her arrested by EACA and eventual dismissal.

It would then be followed by punishing all officers who are seen as being close to her including those who stood behind her as she addressed the media when she was sent on compulsory leave.

The Attorney General was to be dissuaded from giving any opinion on the powers and responsibilities of the relationship of the office of the Chief Justice, Chief Registrar and Judicial Service Commission, so that respective roles and responsibilities remain murky amongst others, perhaps explaining why Mrs Shollei said she had no faith in any disciplinary process that shall be instituted against her.

However, another source conversant with the ongoings at the Judiciary said the release of the emails could be a ploy to “muddle” investigations against the registrar.

“The allegations made against her are very serious. They include corruption, mismanagement and even fraud. But what she is doing is to muddle the investigations by the leak of the alleged emails,” said the source.

“In fact, it is against the law to reveal peoples’ private communications. This however is a matter to be dealt with later, but now the focus is on the investigations. We want her to deal with the allegations against her and not creating unnecessary distractions,” added the source.

On Friday, the CJ declined to accept or deny that he was leading the fight to oust Mrs Shollei from office. The CJ also did not expressly distance himself from the alleged e-mails. He, however, alluded to his e-mail account being hacked into to obtain communication between him and judiciary staff.

Mr Mutunga yesterday called a meeting to brief the judges on recent developments in the Judiciary, including the formation of a Judges Forum to formulate judicial policy and formally advise the Chief Justice on policies affecting the delivery of justice.

LOOKING BACK

Since the allegations became public on August 19, Mrs Shollei has defended her track record, saying all her dealings were above board and in the best interest of Kenyans.

Among the most damaging claims is that between October 31, 2012 and November 21, 2012 the registrar took an eight-month salary advance — estimated at Sh3.5 million — which she had not cleared by the time the JSC demanded an explanation on the payments.

Mrs Shollei is also accused of paying two junior employees — her personal assistant and secretary — high salaries and assigning them official government vehicles and drivers which they are not entitled to.

The JSC claims among other things that Mrs Shollei irregularly effected promotions, secondment and placement of staff from other public institutions.

It also says she usurped powers of the commission on disciplinary matters. Citing numerous cases, the JSC blames the despondency, apathy, divisions and low morale in the Judiciary on Mrs Shollei’s partial leadership.