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| Judiciary Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei speaks to the media at a Nairobi hotel, Sunday. [PHOTO: George Mulala/STANDARD] |
By CYRUS OMBATI
KENYA: Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei vowed to respond to all queries raised by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against her within 21 days to clear her name.
Mrs Shollei said she had begun seeking information on the queries touching on financial management, procurement and human resource management.
“By extension, these queries touch on other individuals and relevant institutions. I therefore have begun the process of issuing the queries to the relevant Directorates, the Tender Committee and the Internal Audit office,” she told a press conference in Nairobi Sunday.
She added: “I have also invited the relevant government institutions who by law have oversight on financial management and procurement of the Judiciary.”
Mrs Shollei explained that she and the JSC had mutually agreed that she be furnished with the queries, including those that were in the public domain, for her to state her rebuttal.
“I would like to clarify that these are questions and not charges,” she explained. “I wish to repeat that my office is transparent and is not involved in financial impropriety and the comprehensive response will bear me out,” she added.
Mrs Shollei, who was responding to allegations against her published in a local daily, said she was reluctant to respond to the queries through the media.
Asked for patience
“I do not want this issue to be processed through the media because there are laid down procedures that have been initiated,” she said. “I am a professional and a stickler for law, regulations and procedure.”
She added: “I ask for patience for my team and I to put together a detailed response and ask that this matter not be prosecuted in the media and other informal channels. Let this matter be dealt with in accordance with the law. When my report is ready, I will be happy to welcome any more queries.”
She explained both parties had pledged to uphold strict confidentiality in the interest of protecting her reputation and that of the JSC.
Avoiding public exchanges was necessary “to protect the public image and reputation of the JSC if the allegations were in their very nature frivolous and when countered satisfactorily, may portray the Commission as petty and unprofessional.”
The need for confidentiality was also necessary to protect her “fledgling reputation and integrity as a person first and secondly as a public servant” if indeed she was able to provide answers satisfactorily.
The agreement between her and JSC was arrived at after she resumed office last week.
She expressed confidence the Judiciary would recover from the crisis and come out stronger and with increased public support.
Radioactive emissions
JSC said in a brief to Mrs Shollei that it was investigating allegations of impropriety in finance, procurement, human resource and insubordination against her.
The queries arose from investigations by two committees of the JSC last month and were formally handed to her on Tuesday following a meeting chaired by Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga. She is expected to respond in 21-days.
Meanwhile, The Standard established that Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and other Supreme Court judges are in Colombia on a study tour.
A directive by the CJ asking Appeal judges to relocate to Elgon Place in Nairobi’s Upper Hill has caused controversy.
The Law Society of Kenya has written to the CJ asking him to halt the move to allow an independent examination into concerns the building’s proximity to telecoms equipment could be a source of harmful radioactive emissions.
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