JSC now allows Chief Registrar to present her defence on October 16

By MOSES MICHIRA and WAHOME THUKU

NAIROBI, KENYA: Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei will appear before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on October 16  to present her case against accusations of impropriety.

The decision was announced in a brief statement by the JSC Registrar Winfrida Mokaya after the second day meeting to deliberate on her response to allegations of impropriety.

Meanwhile, a Nairobi-based lawyer has demanded the sacking of Justice Joel Ngugi over accusations of corruption and involvement in a ‘guerilla movement’ to oust Shollei from the Judiciary.

Advocate Edwin Sifuna has petitioned the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to sack Justice Ngugi who The Standard had earlier established is alleged to be leading a highly co-ordinated attack against Mrs Shollei, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.

A trove of e-mail correspondence and letters obtained by The Standard indicate Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and a group of five people working in his office are the drafters of a 31-point strategy whose objective is removal of Shollei as Chief Registrar of the Judiciary. They constitute a so-called “War Council” in which the CJ is its commander-in-chief.

The correspondence shows that the initiative is the brainwork of five staff members in the Office of the CJ; Mr Duncan Okello, Prof Ngugi, Mr Dennis Kabaara, Mr Kwamchetsi Makokha and Mr Kennedy Bidali.

Okello is the Chief of Staff in CJ’s office while Prof Ngugi, a judge,  is the head of Judiciary Transformation Secretariat and the director of the Judiciary Training Institute.

Mr Bidali is the Judiciary ombudsperson.

Mr Kabaara is a financial analyst in the same office while Mr Makokha, a columnist for a local newspaper, is currently engaged as a communications consultant.

“By the conclusion of these activities and implementation of these strategies, the single most important driver of resistance to Judiciary Transformation (“Darth Vader” or DV) shall have been removed,” states the prime directive of the detailed plan.

“Darth Vader” is a monstrous character in the hit Star Wars movie trilogy and the name is in reference to Shollei whom they claimed has totally eclipsed the CJ.

After initial prevarication, the CJ signed off the plan via an e-mail to the four members on September 20 at 9:02pm.

“As your commander-in-chief, I say my generals let us start the initial battles in this war,” reads his e-mail.

Among the accusations lawyer Sifuna has against the judge is a secret bank account in Kiambu which Ngugi and other members of the ‘War Council’ were operating. The account was to be used to deposit funds donated to the Judiciary.

“The manner in which the judge conducted himself in this matter gives me all the suspicion that he has sacrificed his independence and integrity at the altar of greed, pursuit of power and influence,” reads Mr Sifuna’s petition in part.

The Standard had exclusively learnt of corrupt dealings at the Judiciary that were foiled by Shollei.

In one instance reported recently, Shollei allegedly stopped the theft of Sh80 million from a Judiciary account held at CFC Stanbic Bank.

Four Judiciary staff have already been charged in court.

Dr Mutunga was infuriated that the four staffers were charged before internal investigations could be completed.

In the trail of e-mail obtained and seen by The Standard, Judge Ngugi had written to Mutunga complaining that a grant from the Ford Foundation to the Judiciary should have been paid in to ‘our account in Kiambu’ rather than have it wired directly to the official bank accounts. The said account was called the Judicial Training Institute Ford, we have learnt, implying that it was exclusively used to draw funds from the Ford Foundation meant for the Judiciary.

In 2004, Mutunga joined the Ford Foundation in Nairobi as a human rights programme officer. In 2009, he became the executive director overseeing all grants in Eastern Africa, mainly focusing on human rights, social justice and protection of women’s rights before he left to take up the position of Chief Justice.

Judge Ngugi also complained that the finance director at the Judiciary Benedict Omollo had “left their side”.

Mr Sifuna’s petition is only the latest twist in a searing power struggle between some members of the JSC and the office of the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.

Indeed, a major trail of e-mailed communication that The Standard has retained a copy of, indicate a well-calculated move to oust Mrs Shollei whom they accuse of financial impropriety that may have led to Sh1.2 billion in losses.

JSC has claimed that the losses arose from the procurement of buildings and systems, but she lodged an interim report detailing the expenditure on Tuesday and promised to file a more comprehensive one within two weeks.

And the petition filed by Sifuna is likely to be sent to the President if the JSC finds sufficient grounds to qualify the removal of Judge Ngugi.

The President shall, within 14 days after receiving the petition, suspend the judge from office and, acting in accordance with the recommendation of JSC, appoint a seven-member tribunal to determine the case.

Lawyer Sifuna confirmed having filed the petition with the JSC when The Standard reached him on phone.

We also forwarded a list of questions to Judge Ngugi to respond to relating to the petition. Specifically we had questions relating to the Kiambu bank account opened by the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) to deposit donations from Ford Foundation.

Judge Ngugi had not responded to our e-mail at the time of going to press.