JSC appoints new Chief Registrar

By KENFREY KIBERENGE

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The Judicial Service Commission has appointed Ms Anne Atieno Amadi as the new Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.

Ms Amadi, whose appointment was communicated by Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga, fills the position that fell vacant last October after the JSC sacked Ms Gladys Boss Shollei over allegations of financial impropriety.

(Read: Gladys Shollei loses round one in battle for job)

As the secretary to the JSC and chief administrator and accounting officer, the Registrar is a powerful position within Judiciary.

The new Registrar has been an advocate of the High Court since 1989 and worked at the Amadi & Associates.

Between 1997 and 2003, Ms Amadi practiced law privately in Mombasa after serving as a magistrate in the Judiciary for six years -from 1991 and 1997.

She was the deputy executive director and head of litigation with the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Kenya until May 2008, according to information available on Amadi & Associates website.

Her main duties included assisting the executive director in the management and strategic guidance of the organisation.

As head of litigation, she managed the affairs of the organisation’s three legal aid clinics in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa and provided leadership to all the teams in the organisation.

“Other duties included project planning, supervision of programme implementation, conceptualisation and coordination of research activities, proposal writing for fundraising and report writing,” reads her biography.

Ms Amadi is also a past national coordinator of the national legal aid and awareness programme in Kenya.

The programme was domiciled under the defunct Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs ministry and was designed to improve access to justice for the poor, marginalised and vulnerable in society.

Ms Amadi was in charge of setting up the structures of the programme, with a view to coming up with scheme for Kenya, based on experiences of six pilot projects run by the programme.

Other duties included project planning, supervision of programme implementation, creating and maintaining partnerships as well as monitoring and evaluation of the programme.

The registrar is also trained in alternative dispute resolution, mediation in particular.