After overseeing the swearing-in of two presidents, former Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi is now raring to oversee the 2027 General Election.

Born and raised in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County, Amadi is among the prominent contenders for the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

If successful, Amadi will replace the late Wafula Chebukati as the electoral agency’s chairperson.

As the Registrar of the Judiciary, Amadi oversaw the swearing-in of President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017 and President William Ruto in 2022.

Amadi’s legal career spans over two decades as a practicing advocate of the High Court, with a deep-rooted focus on women’s rights and access to justice.

Her academic journey began at Kapsabet Girls’ High School, followed by legal studies at the University of Nairobi and the Kenya School of Law.

Sharpened expertise

She further sharpened her expertise through specialised training, including alternative dispute resolution at California State University in Sacramento, trial advocacy at the University of San Francisco, and a course on the Law of Internal Displacement at the International Humanitarian Law Institute in Sanremo, Italy.

“My training has been invaluable not just for me but also for the country,” Amadi once shared in an interview with People Daily.

“For instance, when I studied the Law of Internal Displacement, it was at a time when Kenya was grappling with the aftermath of post-election violence. We had a significant number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and I was leading an outreach initiative called the Protection Working Group on IDPs. This motivated me to equip myself with the necessary legal knowledge. Upon returning, I contributed to formulating both the national policy and law on IDPs, which are now in place,” she stated.

Amadi was appointed as the Judiciary’s Registrar in 2016, a crucial position that made her responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the court system, ensuring that the judicial machinery ran efficiently.

She says one of her key tasks was to improve access to justice, a goal that she pursued by streamlining the Judiciary’s processes, focusing on reducing case backlogs, and improving case management.

During her tenure as Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, Amadi oversaw significant developments, including the expansion of courts and the deployment of additional judicial personnel.

She proudly cites the establishment of 128 courts and sub-registries across the country, including two Supreme Court sub-registries, six for the Court of Appeal, 25 High Court stations, nine High Court sub-registries, 10 Environment and Land Court stations, and two ELC sub-registries.

“With my experience and background, I believe I am well-placed to help implement key reforms, particularly in ensuring access to justice for the poor and vulnerable,” she said in an interview during her tenure as the Registrar.

“Justice should not be a privilege for the wealthy; it must reach everyone.”
On the perceived tensions between the Judiciary and other arms of government, Amadi viewed them as healthy democratic interactions.

“Since the adoption of the 2010 Constitution, we have witnessed a natural process where different institutions seek to define their space. I don’t see this as a conflict but as a necessary process that helps us strike a balance. At the end of the day, we are all serving the public, and that should be our guiding principle.”

Gold fraud

But her tenure was not devoid of challenges, as in May 2023, the High Court froze Amadi’s bank accounts amid allegations of her involvement in a gold fraud scheme.

A Dubai-based company accused her, her son, and others of defrauding them of over $742,000 under the pretense of supplying gold that was never delivered. The court later exonerated her and threw out the case against her.

During her farewell, Amadi prided herself of, among other accomplishments, Judiciary transformation framework (JTF) that aimed to modernise the justice system.