Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi is not yet off the hook in the Ksh100 gold scandal pitting her and her son.
This is after the Court of Appeal allowed a Dubai-based company to challenge a High Court order that allowed Amadi, her son and two others to access their bank accounts when they had a pending suit.
Aggrieved by the unfreezing order the firm through its director Demetrios Bradshaw filed an appeal seeking an order freezing Amadi, her son and two other accounts pending the determination of the suit.
The appellate court certified as urgent the appeal lodged by Bradshaw and directed the parties to await the empanelment of a three-judge bench by the President of the court Daniel Musinga to hear and determine the appeal.
"The application dated August 29, 2023, has been certified as urgent by the duty Judge, this application will be heard by a three-judge constituted by the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal by way of a video link," the directions by the court to the parties reads.
The appeals court allowed the international gold firm to challenge an order that allowed Amadi together with her son Brian Ochieng and two others to access their bank accounts when there was a pending suit.
"Pending the hearing and final determination of the application herein, the Court be pleased to issue an Injunction restraining Amandi, her son and Andrew Njenga Kiarie and or their agents from accessing, operating and or withdrawing funds from two banks domiciled at ABC Bank, Green House Mall, Nairobi, Kenya, in the name of Amadi & Associates, Advocates (and any other Bank Account registered to Amadi & Associates, Advocates in any other bank within the republic of Kenya)," Bradshaw states.
He further wants the court of appeal to issue an order freezing all personal bank accounts belonging to Amandi, her son, Kiarie and Daniel Ndegwa Kangara and be restrained from withdrawing funds whatsoever from their accounts without an express order of the court
In his appeal papers, Bradshaw also wants the High Court case he filed seeking the disqualification of Justice Alfred Mabeya to be stayed.
"Pending hearing and final determination of the application herein the Honorable Court be pleased to order a stay of further proceedings in High Court Civil Case No. E211 of 2023 (Bruton Gold Trading LLC Vs. Anne Atieno Amadi & 6 others)," seeks the Dubai-based firm director.
He says Justice Mabeya was biased and made an order that is final because it exonerated Amadi and her son before the case was fully heard and determined. The British citizen wants the case to be heard by a different High Court judge.
Bradshaw argues that due process was not followed when Amadi, her son and Kiarie applied to unfreeze their accounts.
The applications were not certified as urgent, which is a legal requirement, but Justice Mabeya proceeded to hear them and made a decision to unfreeze their accounts.
According to Bradshaw, he says that the documents he filed on May 17, 2023, were mysteriously deleted from the judiciary's e-filing portal, and were only reinstated on May 29, 2023, after its lawyers physically went to the Milimani High Court to complain.
The Dubai firm insists that someone high up in the Judiciary's food chain is interfering with the case it has filed in the High Court, and says it fears Amadi is using her influence to get a favourable outcome.
The firm further argues that in his ruling dated June 9, 2023, Justice Mabeya made final determinations regarding Amadi that there is no evidence linking her to the alleged gold fraud when the main suit was not heard and determined.
"The ruling by Mabeya made it clear that he made a decision regarding Amadi's liability in the entire suit at the interlocutory stage without hearing and determination of the main suit," says the firm.
The contested ruling Justice Mabeya unfroze the bank accounts saying Amadi was roped into the case by virtue that her son Brian Ochieng was the one running the day-to-day affairs of the law firm she established linked to the case.
While discharging the orders Justice Mabeya noted that Amadi was not in charge of the law firm when the alleged transactions were made.
Bruton Gold Trading LLC seeks freezing orders saying police investigations show that Amadi received some of the money she was allegedly defrauded of, and wants the Court of Appeal to impose new freezing orders on the named bank accounts.
In an affidavit filed in the court of appeal by Bradshaw, he says that the agreement between the parties was that Ndegwa was to deliver gold for export (in Kenya) which gold would be exported by Mboronda Seyenkulo Sakor to Dubai for sale.
He adds that the agreement was entered on the understanding that UGL could facilitate the export of gold and he entered into a transaction with UGL, who were represented by Amandi's Law Firm of Amadi and Associates, Advocates, for the export of 1,500 kg of gold bars allegedly ultimately owned by Sakor and his family from Kenya to Dubai.
"A total of US$ 592,970 was sent to Amandi's firm via bank transfer by Aeras DWC LLC, my sister company, for and on behalf of me, into the law firm account held by Amadi and Associates Advocates at the ABC Bank, " Bradshaw states
He says the money was dispatched into four trenches payments totalling US$ 149,236.48.
The businessman also says that he further made another to Sakor for his accommodation and other costs which it was understood would be recouped at the close of the transaction.
Further, he says that after inducing him to make the payments mentioned above, the Sakor was the vendor of the gold. Ndegwa purporting to act as an officer of UGL, the gold exporter, on October 22 , 2021, informed him that all formalities had been complied with and that the gold would be exported on the said date.
"No gold was ever exported from Kenya to Dubai (UAE), and when I enquired as to why the consignment had not left Kenya, Sakor informed me that Bruton Gold Trading LLC, had been named as a second respondent in a suit filed in the High Court at Milimani," he says.
