- The file has been referred to the Presiding Judge of the Milimani Commercial Division Alfred Mabeya to handle the matter.
- Amadi and her son Brian Ochieng's personal bank accounts were frozen on Thursday last week following a suit filed against her by a Dubai-based Company.
Image: FILE
Milimani Commercial Judge David Majanja has this morning disqualified himself from hearing the Sh130 million gold scandal facing Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi
Majanja says there may be issues of his partiality in the case since he is a member of the Judicial Service Commission where Amadi sits as the secretary.
The file has been referred to the Presiding Judge of the Milimani Commercial Division Alfred Mabeya to handle the matter.
"Of course, there may be issues about my partiality or impartiality or impression created. I am very much aware of the public perception of my position. I, therefore, disqualify myself from the matter," he said.
Justice Majanja said the matter will be mentioned before Mabeya on Wednesday.
He at the same time declined to set aside orders freezing Amadi's bank accounts and four others.
"having indicated that I will disqualify myself, I take the view that it would not be proper for me to determine that application to discharge the orders," Majanja said.
Amadi and her son Brian Ochieng's personal bank accounts were frozen on Thursday last week following a suit filed against her by a Dubai-based Company.
Bruton Gold Trading LLC is a gold trading company based in Dubai. It was interested in buying gold from Kenya.
On Thursday it told the court how fake documentation was procured in an attempt to mislead them that they were committing to a genuine transaction.
A tracking number was also provided by the parties involved to prove that the consignment of gold had left Kenya aboard a Kenya Airways Flight to Dubai
In their court documents, Bruton has detailed how Amadi, her son Brian and five others allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain more than Sh100 million from them.
The company claims that they illegally obtained $742,206 (Sh103 million) on the pretence that they would deliver 1,500 Kg of gold bars.
She has been accused of working in cahoots with her son who is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and two other advocates working at her law firm in the alleged fraudulent commercial activity.
The two are Andrew Njenga Kiarie, Kikanae Adrian Topoti
The company has also named one Daniel Ndegwa Kangara and Edward Taylor alias Mboronda Sakor, a Liberian national in the alleged gold scam.
Taylor was the gold vendor in this whole transaction and Kangara was the alleged exporter.
Majanja who certified the matter as urgent also froze two bank account numbers domiciled at African Banking Corporation Bank, greenhouse mall, Nairobi, in the name of Amadi and associates advocates.
Also frozen are those of Kiarie, Topoti and Kangara.
Bruton's directors, according to the court documents, were introduced by Taylor to one Daniel Ndegwa Kangara (Alias Dan Muriithi) who at the time it was alleged was an officer in an entity identified as Universal Global Logistics (UGL)Limited.
UGL was in the gold export business. It is said it could export gold from Kenya to Dubai.
Bruton says the agreement between the parties was that Kangara was to deliver gold for export (in Kenya) which gold would be exported by the Liberian to Dubai for sale. The cost was to be covered by Bruton.
An agreement was subsequently entered between the Dubai firm and UGL. UGL was represented by Amadi's Law firm for the export of the 1500 kg gold bars allegedly owned by the Liberian and his family from Kenya to Dubai.
Bruton consequently sent $592,970 (Sh81.5million) to Amadi's law firm account at African Banking Corporation Limited (7th defendant in the suit)
The monies were dispatched in tranches between September 22, 2021, and October 21, 2021. It was withdrawn in cash by Amadi's son-Brian and Kiarie from ABC Bank.
The company at the same time also sent $149,236 (Sh20.5 million)to the Liberian's account for accommodation and other miscellaneous transaction costs.
In an attempt to shield their fraudulent acts, Taylor sent documents to Bruton which made the company believe they were partaking in a genuine transaction.
Some of the documents which were later established to be fake were a mineral export permit, and an ICGLR regional certificate of origin being the Democratic Republic of Congo among others.
Amadi on Friday termed the accusations being levelled against her as malicious.
She told the Star that the reports are untrue and she will be defending herself in court to set the record straight.