The long-awaited Public Accounts Committee report on an investigation into the loss of billions of shillings under the watch of former Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei has run into deep trouble. The committee is reportedly divided along party lines and has been subject to heavy lobbying and outright bribery. The committee is chaired by Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, who is also ODM Secretary-General.
Dependable sources who spoke to the Nairobi Law Monthly on condition of anonymity said that top offices in the Jubilee administration have been drawn into the controversy. The NLM has obtained exclusive evidence that the final content of the report has been written on the basis of how much those who want to clear Shollei’s name are willing to pay to members of the PAC. At one time, the secretariat allegedly wrote its own doctored report, which was the opposite of what the committee had deliberated upon and endorsed. When members challenged the authenticity of the report and asked to see records of the deliberations, they were informed that the records were had been lost.
The point woman in the clique that has tasked itself with clearing Shollei’s name is said to be a female MP from Eastern Kenya. This woman is a vocal MP known for corrupt dealings, who uses women’s issues as a cover for her fraudulent activities.
According to confidential documents in possession of The Nairobi Law Monthly the last installment she delivered to some members of the Committee was Sh4 Million. This, according to our source, was shared amongst some members while others out-rightly declined to be bribed. At one point, those who had refused to be paid threatened to name those who had been bribed, forcing a woman MP from Northern Kenya to cry and beg them to stop.
Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi has openly claimed that many of the parliamentary committees of the House are routinely bribed to write reports according to the amount of money given. Kenyans are waiting with bated breath to see how the final content of the report, with indications that Shollei will be cleared, a number of members of the Judicial Service Commission assigned the blame for the corruption charges, and a recommendation for their prosecution made. ^
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