Gladys Shollei when she appeared before a parliamentary committee. Photo/ FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 15 – The Industrial Court will rule next Friday whether to reinstate Gladys Shollei as the Chief Registrar (CRJ) of the Judiciary.
This follows the hearing of her application in which she wants the court to halt the recruitment of a new CRJ until the case challenging her dismissal is determined.
Her lawyer Donald Kipkorir told Justice Mathews Nduma that the Judicial Service Commission violated her rights by terminating her employment, an argument dismissed by the Judicial Service Commission.
“The Judicial Service Commission was acting pursuant to Article 172 of the constitution which stipulates that Shollei was not just a Chief Registrar of the Judiciary but was also one of the registrars. As such, it was acting within its mandate when it dismissed her,” the commission’s lawyer Paul Muite stated during the hearing on Friday.
Muite further argued that the petitioner had not made a convincing argument as to why the dismissal should be reversed and called on the court to dismiss the application.
“No case has been made. No attempt has been made to convince this court that such measures should be taken at this point in time. It would not be right to order a reinstatement as it would amount to running the JSC,” he stated. “I would urge her lordship to dismiss the application for reinstatement.”
He contended that the commission was acting within its mandate when it dismissed Shollei and stated it would not be right for the court to order a reinstatement as it would amount to running the JSC.
Shollei’s lawyer on the other hand argued that it is only the office of the Auditor General, public procurement, the appeals board and National Assembly which ought to have raised a complaint seeking her removal.
Kipkorir opined that office of the Chief Registrar was a constitutional body and urged the court to order her reinstatement and stop any recruitment until her case is heard.
Shollei moved to court to contest her sacking and is also seeking compensation for wrongful dismissal.
Prior to her sacking, Shollei had argued that she was not answerable to the JSC but to the National Assembly, the National Treasury, Auditor General, the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) and the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC).
She explained that even though the commission insisted on probing her, she never got a fair hearing after she was denied a chance to call witnesses and defend herself.
Shollei maintained that seven of her rights had been violated by the JSC including the right to a fair trial, the right to a public hearing, her right to the presumption of innocence and her right to be heard by an impartial tribunal.
Other rights which she says were violated were the liberty to due process of the law, her right to inherent dignity and her right to information regarding the material used in the proceedings against her.
Shollei argued that the respondent, in proceeding as it did, brazenly and egregiously violated the well established principles of jurisdiction, natural justice and bias.
Shollei had accused some commissioners including advocate Ahmednasir Abdullahi of bullying her so as to get personal favours granted.
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