In his memoir ‘Referee of a Dirty Ugly Game’, Hassan recalled how they had friction at first, as he (as an advocate at the time) represented a former business partner of Gladys’ former husband, Sam Shollei.
Ahmed Issack Hassan reminisced how an unfortunate situation in Madrid, Spain cemented his friendship with National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei.
He noted that the case came at a time when the Shollei family was going through a tumultuous phase.
“Unbeknown to us at the time, they were going through a harrowing time as a family, in addition to the anguish the court case brought. Gladys narrated how they survived the harsh realities of life, and how they were ostracised by people in the government of former President Moi during this time. She shared this story with me over dinner at McDonald’s cafe in Madrid, Spain,” he noted.
Hassan affirmed that during the conference on elections and security in September 2010 enabled them to get acquainted again, years after the case. Boss served as IIEC Deputy CEO at the time.
“The conference was supported by the United Nations and European Union and she helped me prepare our presentation. I felt sorry and apologised to her as I had been harsh and critical in my submissions in the court case, which they eventually won,” he pointed out.
A day into the conference, the former IEBC boss noted that Gladys fell victim to pickpockets who stole her valuables in a matter of minutes.
“Unfortunately, Gladys became a victim of pickpockets one day into the conference. She had come down to the lobby and was sharing some ideas and concepts with me on election management that she was developing for the IIEC.
“Her notebook was almost full of handwritten notes. She put the notebook back in her bag on the seat next to her once she was done sharing, and we continued talking. Within minutes the bag was gone. It had her passport, wallet, ATM cards, some cash and other personal effects,” he recalled adding that the hotel security was not helpful as they declined to allow them access to CCTV cameras. Therefore, they reported the issue to the police.
For the duration of that time, Hassan noted that he had to use his ATM to withdraw cash for Boss – which was refunded back upon their return to Nairobi.
At the time, they were unable to travel to Kenya as she did not have travel documents.
“We needed to get to Madrid by train to obtain temporary travel documents for her from the Kenyan Embassy. I had to accompany her as we travelled to Madrid – literally as her ‘guardian’.
“We made adjustments for our return trip tickets, from Barcelona to Madrid as our exit point,” he reiterated.
Hassan noted that the experience cemented their friendship with Boss as he would later support her as the commission’s boss to attend Women in Leadership programme at Havard and also backed her for the Chief Registrar position in Judiciary.
By BRIAN KIMANI
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
Issack Hassan Memoir: Referee of Dirty Ugly Game in Kenya
