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Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi yesterday distanced herself from the Sh100 million fake gold scam, saying it was her son who has been managing the law firm linked to the gold scam.

In a fresh suit seeking to set aside orders that froze her accounts, Amadi claims that she left private practice on January 13, 2014 when she was appointed as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.

Amadi has been linked to the gold scam alongside her son Brian Ochieng, two other Kenyans and a Liberian citizen by a Dubai-based company after the gold it purchased was never delivered.

Justice David Majanja on Thursday issued orders freezing her accounts, that of her son and two others pending the hearing of the application by Bruton Gold Trading LLC, a company in Dubai.

The other defendants are Andrew Njenga Kiarie, Kikanae Topoti, Daniel Ndegwa Kang’ara alias Daniel Muriithi and Edward Taylor alias Mboronda Seyenkulo Sakor, a Liberian passport holder.

Amadi claims she did not receive any money or benefit from the monies sent by the Dubai-based company to the firm as at all times it was managed by her son Ochieng’ and Kiarie, who receives clients’ instructions, executes the same and receives any client’s monies.

Ochieng’, Kiarie and Topoti are advocates in the law firm, Amadi and Associates which the Dubai based company claims was used to seal the deal.

In an affidavit, Amadi accuses the Dubai Company of non-disclosure of material facts in its pleadings and affidavits.

“The true facts of this matter have been suppressed and manipulated with intent to mislead the Honourable Court and obtain orders against me,” she says in court documents.

She says that she took leave of absence from the firm of Amadi and Associates Advocates with effect from January 13, 2014 and has never taken out any practice certificate or instructions from any client nor did she receive any monies from any client or person in that capacity.

Amadi through lawyer Ochieng Oduol claims upon her resignation, the firm remained dormant until her son and two other lawyers took up its management and operations.

“I left the affairs of the firm in the hands of the second to fourth Defendants who opted to retain the firm 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 said in an affidavit.

Legal processes

Amadi claimed that due to the conflict, the changes to the firm stalled and her assistance was required from time to time in certain legal processes such as opening bank accounts and other procedures.

“Due to the dormancy of the firm’s accounts for about four years from 13th January 2014 and given that I was previously the sole practitioner in the firm and the only mandate holder, Ochieng’ and Kiarie requested me to either re-activate the dormant firm accounts and on-board them or open fresh accounts for the firm with them as signatories,” she claims in court documents.

Amadi claims she wrote the introductory letter to ABC Bank Limited which is also a defendant in the case on June 9, 2020 and filled in the Account Opening Forms indicating that she ceased being a practising Advocate in 2014.

She says the letter also confirmed the appointment of both Ochieng and Kiarie as signatories to the firm accounts to enable them to continue to offer legal services to the clients in accordance with the LSK Account Rules.

Further dealings

“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 have not drawn any income or profit from the firm since my taking the leave of absence in January 2014,” she said in the affidavit.

She claims she was not aware, neither met nor participated in the transaction of the gold scam. She added that she doesn’t knows the Dubai company or Daniel Ndegwa Kangara alias Daniel Muriithi and Edward Taylor alias Mboronda Seyenkulo Sakor, who are linked to the gold scam.