Anne Amadi faced tough questions during her interview for the position of IEBC chairperson. Her past scandals, especially the gold scam allegations, refusal to fight corruption in the Judiciary, and disregard for court decisions, took center stage.
The panel made it clear that her record was questionable, and she struggled to convince them otherwise.
People’s Daily had earlier reported how Amadi’s accounts were frozen due to allegations that she was involved in a fraudulent gold deal amounting to over Ksh100 million.
The scandal, which linked her to her former law firm, Amadi and Associates, was a serious stain on her career. Even though she claimed to have resigned from the firm in 2014, her son was still actively running it, and the court saw enough grounds to freeze their accounts.
It took months before another judge lifted the freeze, citing a lack of evidence. However, the damage to her reputation had already been done, and these allegations resurfaced during her interview.
During the grilling, one of the panelists, Nelson Bore, confronted Amadi about the matter, asking how she could lead such an important institution when her past was filled with controversy.
Amadi, as expected, denied any wrongdoing and called the accusations a smear campaign meant to destroy her name.
She insisted that she had no involvement in gold dealings and that her accounts were frozen unfairly. But her argument did not convince everyone.
The Judiciary is supposed to be an institution that upholds integrity, yet during her tenure, she failed to tackle corruption effectively.
Corruption has been rampant in the Judiciary, with many complaints about bribery, favoritism, and improper influence.
Despite this, Amadi’s time as Chief Registrar was marked by inaction. The Judiciary continued to be plagued by corruption, and she did little to address it.
People’s Daily has previously highlighted how judicial officers were accused of taking bribes to alter rulings, yet no serious action was taken. When questioned about this, Amadi simply said there were many complaints, but evidence was always lacking.
This response did not inspire confidence, as it suggested a failure in her leadership to properly investigate and act on these issues.
Another major issue was her disregard for court decisions. Judicial officers are expected to lead by example, but Amadi was accused of ignoring orders when it suited her. This raised concerns about her ability to respect the law if she were to head the electoral commission.
If she couldn’t follow the rules in the Judiciary, how could she be trusted to manage elections fairly? Her answers to these accusations were vague, and she struggled to explain why she should be given such a high-profile job.
Amadi attempted to shift the focus to her experience, arguing that she had played a key role in the Judiciary and was involved in inaugurating two presidents. She portrayed herself as a capable leader who could bring stability to the IEBC.
However, her proposed solution to reduce polling stations from 46,232 to 22,000 raised eyebrows. While she claimed this would save resources, it also hinted at a plan that could make elections more difficult for voters, possibly leading to disenfranchisement.
Given her past, many were skeptical about her true intentions.The Judiciary has faced numerous scandals, and Amadi’s name is now linked to some of them.
The gold scam case may not have resulted in a conviction, but it left too many unanswered questions. People’s Daily had reported that her firm, run by her son, was still active at the time of the fraudulent transactions, making it hard to believe that she was entirely uninvolved.
If she truly had no connection to the deal, why did the court initially freeze her accounts? These are the doubts that continued to haunt her interview.
Ultimately, Amadi’s responses failed to clear her name. She appeared defensive, dismissing valid concerns as mere attempts to tarnish her image. Her failure to deal with corruption in the Judiciary and her questionable past made her an unsuitable candidate for the IEBC job.
The electoral commission needs leaders with unquestionable integrity, not individuals with a history of scandals and unanswered allegations.
The grilling session exposed her weaknesses, and it became clear that giving her such a position would be a huge mistake.
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