Speaking after she was sworn into office at a brief ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga; the former magistrate says her past interaction with the Judiciary gives her an advantage in turning around the institution/FILE
Speaking after she was sworn into office at a brief ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga; the former magistrate says her past interaction with the Judiciary gives her an advantage in turning around the institution which has in the recent past been in the news for all the wrong reasons.
“I am no stranger to the Judiciary having served as a magistrate for seven years and thereafter having performed roles that entailed active interactions with this institution at different levels. I have confidence that with other partners in the justice chain we shall transform it into a world class institution,” she pledged.
Amadi replaces Gladys Boss Shollei as the Judiciary chief accounting officer who was sacked last year by the Judicial Service Commission following corruption allegations.
Chief Justice Mutunga on his part congratulated Amadi on her appointment, but cautioned her that the public will now look to her to ensure that corruption cartels within the judicial system which have clogged the wheels of justice are exterminated.
“We want to create a Judiciary that administers the law fairly, firmly and impartially and not one whose leadership (which the CRJ now joins) puts it in the market place of the political and private transactions. We are not building a sectarian stock exchange be it ethnic, gender or generational ratio but a national institution that leaves up to its billing as Kenya’s custodian of the Constitution and the rule of law,” the Chief Justice stated.
“It is an institution that must become a beacon for justice, incorruptibility and independence.”
He said Amadi’s immediate tasks will include the operationalisation of the Judiciary Fund, modernizing the courts registry and ensuring the resources are equitably distributed in the Judiciary.
“Corruption in the administrative cadre must be exterminated. The public raised our salaries and therefore we must say no to bribes, we cannot elevate corruption on to a permanent spot, we cannot make it look so ordinary that those who fight it look like the ones doing the wrong thing,” Mutunga said.
The CRJ position was first advertised in October 29, 2013 a total of 12 candidates applied out of whom JSC says it shortlisted seven.
The commission considered that number to be small and re-advertised the position on December 24, 2013 upon which five more candidates applied. “The commission shortlisted a total of four candidates that were conducted on 11th January 2014 (and) appointed Anne Atieno Amadi as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary,” read a statement signed by the Chairman of the JSC, Chief Justice Mutunga.
Amadi was until May 2008, the Deputy Executive Director and Head of Litigation of the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and a trainer in alternative dispute resolution. According to Amadi and Associates Law firm website, she has been an advocate of the High Court since 1989.
She also practiced law privately in Mombasa between 1997 and 2003 after serving as a magistrate for six years from 1991 and 1997.
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