Chief Registrar of Judiciary Anne Amadi distances self from gold scandal, wants accounts unfrozen

Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Atieno Amadi has distanced herself from claims of participating in a fake gold sale deal in which a Dubai-based company allegedly lost Ksh.89 million.

This comes after the High Court in Nairobi last week ordered that bank accounts registered in the names of Ms. Amadi and her son Brian Ochieng Amadi be frozen following a suit filed by the foreign company; Bruton Gold Trading LLC.

Ms. Amadi however, in a subsequent application filed by her lawyer James Ochieng’ Oduol, now seeks orders for her bank accounts to be unfrozen claiming innocence saying she was neither privy to the deal nor benefited from it in any way.

Ms. Amadi argues that the order freezing her bank accounts was issued based on non-disclosure and misrepresentation of facts to the court by the Dubai company.

The Registrar claims that, following her appointment to the Judiciary almost a decade ago, she – on January 10, 2014 – wrote to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) requesting leave of absence from the firm Amadi and Associates Advocates that she previously ran.

The letter was drafted in accordance LSK regulations, and was meant to inform that she would no longer engage in private practice, hence immediately ceased handling clients or receiving any money directed to the said law firm.

Ms. Amadi goes on to claim that, upon her exit, the law firm largely remained dormant until her son, Brian, as well as two other people – Andrew Njenga Kiarie and Kikanae Adrian Topoti – took over the operations but retained the name Amadi and Associates Advocates.

“There was a difficulty with the registration of the changes to the firm with the Business Registration Service due to the existence of a Business Consultancy Firm operating with a similar name being Amadi and Associates,” she says in the application.

“Due to the conflict, the changes to the firm took a stall and my assistance was required from time to time in certain legal processes such as opening bank accounts and other procedures.”

She adds: “I have endeavoured to have the changes filed at the Business Registration Service, but due to the ongoing dispute because of the names of the two firms, the changes were not effected.”

Ms. Amadi further states that the three persons then asked her to reactivate the firm’s bank accounts, which by then had been dormant for 4 years, and onboard them or just open fresh ones and list them as signatories.

She hence wrote an introductory letter for them to the ABC Bank, whereupon the trio opened two bank accounts at the Green House Mall branch on June 20, 2020.

“Following the opening of the Bank Accounts, I had no further dealings with the firm. I am not a signatory to the Accounts and have no role in the firm and I do not draw any income or profit from the firm since my taking the leave of absence in January 2014,” she adds.

Ms. Amadi, therefore, states that she did not receive any money paid by the foreigners in the alleged gold deal, further that she neither has any knowledge of the Dubai company nor has she ever met its proprietors.

“On 18th May 2023, the High Court issued an order directing that my personal bank accounts held with any bank in Kenya be frozen and there be no withdrawals without an order from the court,” she states.

“I am advised by my Advocates on record, which advice I take to be the truth, that the Plaintiff has not met the threshold for the grant of the order of freezing of accounts...”

The Registrar adds: “The Plaintiff in the application dated 17th May 2023 failed to disclose that the I was not, in my personal nor professional capacity, a party or agent and nor was I privy to the impugned transaction.”

She also accuses Bruton Gold Trading LLC and its proprietors of failing to provide any evidence linking her to the money that was allegedly withdrawn from the firm’s accounts after the deal.

According to Ms. Amadi, the order freezing her bank accounts, has incapacitated her financially, as well as subjected to her to condemnation without being granted her right to a fair hearing.

“There was no evidence against me to warrant the drastic orders as issued. The effect of the orders of 18th May 2023 has been to incapacitate the me financially and literally stopped my personal, professional, and social life,” she says.

“The order is extremely prejudicial to me as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, as I am unable to even carry on with my daily life, fend for my family, and meet my daily needs and may result in me undergoing financial embarrassment due to failure to meet my recurrent financial obligations.”