Gladys Shollei has returned to office, CJ Willy Mutunga confirms

Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei when she appeared before parliamentary Legal affairs committee. (Photo:File/Standard)

By Kurian Musa

Nairobi, Kenya: Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has confirmed the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei has returned to work.

He made the remarks when he toured Milimani Courts to inspect the progress of the activities in court as well as to assess the state of facilities used by the Judiciary.

Mutunga confirmed that Shollei was back in office, but said that she was out of the country.

He was fielding questions from journalists who wanted to know if the Judiciary Service Commission will continue with its investigations against the registrar.

The CJ said that the JSC would meet on Monday to deliberate on the matter.

Compulsory leave

The JSC had forced Shollei on compulsory leave but she challenged the action at the High Court.

The matter was however settled out of court in a deal that saw Shollei return to work in exchange for the withdrawal of the court case.

The CJ expressed optimism at the pace with which the election petitions were being carried out.

“I hope this will be the last time we are experiencing such an enormous number of petitions in the country,” he said.

“I have inspected the premises and this is a normal routine activity to see how members of the public are accessing services in the courts,” Mutunga said.

Digitisation of the courts documents in the Judiciary was the priority of the CJ’s leadership. He said that this would create space for other offices at Milimani.

The four-hour visit culminated in a lunch meeting with judges and magistrates.

He addressed the press at the High Court and lauded the way the media has been covering the Judiciary in an objective way.

He asked the members of the Fourth Estate to observe the media guidelines put in all the court premises countrywide.