Law firm, Kyagaba & Otatiina Advocates (KOA) is barely one year old, but it is already making market-shaking moves in Uganda legal services industry.
A brainchild of 5 lawyers- David Mpanga, Dennis Otatiina, Isaac Kyagaba, John Musiime and Pearl Nyakabwa; all of them, ex-Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA), the law firm came into life mid-2019. In between the five lawyers, lies over 50 years of combined banking and finance; construction; corporate; energy; litigation & dispute resolution; intellectual property; labour and employment law; restructuring and securitization and tax experience.
Within months of hitting the streets, in November 2019, KOA partnered with Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, to launch the Dentons brand into Uganda. In Africa, Dentons has over 200 lawyers in 13 locations across Africa, including Uganda.
But they are not yet done. Just last week KOA/Dentons Uganda took the market by surprise with another game-changing move. They signed on the former Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Commissioner General, Doris Akol, to lead their tax practice. Other than tax, she will also be largely focusing on oil and gas, public procurement and tax in Africa.
This move is very significant for the law firm for two reasons. Tax law albeit being relatively new is one of the most lucrative areas because of usually the large amounts and the size of clients involved. For example in 2017 alone, there were about UGX500 billion worth of tax cases in various courts. This lucrative sector has previously been dominated by two law firms- Birungyi, Barata & Associates and Kampala Associated Advocates, in that order. Doris’ move to KOA/Dentons will “without a doubt” see that needle shake, according to one senior lawyer with over 20 years practice in Uganda commercial law space.
“It was a great move for them (KOA/Dentons),” said the lawyer who declined to be quoted.
Doris is not only the former Commissioner General of URA, Uganda’s tax administrator, where she spent nearly 25 years, but she is also a fine tax lawyer in her own right. She graduated with a Bachelors of Law from Makerere University and holds a Masters of Law in International Business, majoring in Trade and Tax Law from McGill University in Canada. Over and above that, she also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Management from Uganda Management Institute and an MBA in Leadership Innovation and Change from the York St. John University in the United Kingdom. She is a Chartered Secretary and Governance Professional Fellow ICSA.
While at URA, she served as a Council Member and Chairperson of the Governance and Organizational Development Committee of the African Tax Administrators Forum (ATAF) for 6 years from 2014 to 2020. ATAF is an organisation which was established by African revenue authorities in 2009, in order to improve the performance of tax administrations in Africa, so Doris not only knows a little more about tax in Africa, but she can open doors in high places on the continent. And in this business, opening doors also means a couple of wallets opening too.
Between 2006 and 2009, she was one of the major persons who developed Uganda ‘s Tax Procedures Code for Uganda- Uganda’s tax Bible- call it if you may, that regulates all procedures for the administration of all the tax laws in Uganda as well as harmonises and consolidates Uganda’s tax procedures with other existing tax and non-tax laws. In her capacity as URA boss, she was a core member of the Government technical team in the Heritage Oil & Gas Ltd vs. Government of the Republic of Uganda arbitration case as well as the Tullow Oil capital gains tax dispute. Talking about oil & gas, between 2011 and 2014, she was a member of Uganda’s Ministry of Finance National Petroleum Technical Committee that designed the legislation for taxation of the petroleum sector.
Best of the best; one of Africa’s top tax experts
With such a treasure trove of tax law, Dentons signing of Doris, for luck of a better example, is akin to the record-setting 2017 Paris Saint-Germain signing of Neymar from Barcelona for a staggering fee of €222 million in the summer of 2017- only that we do not know yet the financial details of the deal. What we are sure of though is that the move will significantly swing a lot of leverage for KOA/Dentons in Uganda and on the continent- and we are not the only ones who think so.
“Doris is a brilliant lawyer, very independent-minded and agile. Besides she has accumulated many years of experience and international exposure across the tax spectrum. I think she will be a big asset to the law firm,” Dicksons Kateshumbwa, the former Commissioner, Domestic Tax at URA, who worked with and under Doris for over a decade, told CEO East Africa.
“She has spread out her wings. She is unstoppable. I believe they have picked the best of the best,” Allen Kagina, the Executive Director at Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and Doris’ predecessor as Commissioner General, as well as former boss at URA also told us in a WhatsApp interview.
Jennifer Musisi the former Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) Executive Director, who was one time Doris’ supervisor in the Legal & Board Affairs Department at URA, also told us that Doris is, “one of Africa’s top tax experts.”
Doris’ former colleagues’ views echo those of her now new colleagues at KOA/Dentons.
“We are delighted to welcome Doris to lead our Tax Practice,” said David Mpanga, the KOA/Dentons Chairman and Senior Partner, adding: “Her expertise and commercial experience will greatly enhance our ability to serve clients investing in or through Uganda as well as elevating our Africa Tax team offering.”
Dentons Africa Region CEO, Noor Kapdi said that Doris’ signing reflected the “exceptional talent” ethos espoused by Dentons and that Doris would significantly enhances their “tax, public policy, procurement and regulatory practices.”
Penta juris: meet the original 5 lawyers behind Dentons Uganda
Two heads are better than, one, so they say. Indeed, Doris joins a formidable team of lawyers, as can be seen from their rich profiles below:
David Mpanga
Chairman and Senior Partner
Areas of Practice: Banking and finance; corporate; energy; government; infrastructure and Public-Private Partnerships; life sciences and health care.
David has over 20 years of professional experience in legal services in East Africa. He has extensive regional experience, including in Kenya and Tanzania, in transactional work covering all major areas of practice.
He started out as a Legal Executive at dfcu Bank in 1997, before moving to PriceWaterhouseUganda as the Manager Legal, between 2001 to 2005. He then joined Kampala Associated Advocates where he worked for 15 years, before joining Kyagaba & Otatiina Advocates/Dentons Uganda in October 2019.
He has acted as an advisor to notable private sector institutions and highly-regarded companies in the East African Region in the various roles and has as a result, garnered considerable and unique commercial and business-oriented legal experience that distinguishes him amongst his peers.
He has also undertaken notable work that involves both private Government agencies from a non-dispute perspective. He is ranked highly by Chambers Global with one client referring to him as “knowledgeable” and a “leading lawyer” in infrastructure and financing matters. IFLR1000, a leading financial and corporate law ranking index rates him as “highly regarded” the highest rating for individual lawyers.
He graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam with a Bachelors of Law and holds a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre.
Netflix Strikes $82.7 Billion Deal to Take Over Warner Bros., Redefining the Global Entertainment LandscapeDennis Otatiina
Managing Partner
Areas of Practice: Banking and finance; mergers and acquisitions; real estate; intellectual property law; capital markets and general corporate advisory.
Dennis is the Managing Partner of Kyagaba and Otatiina Advocates/Dentons Uganda.
In this role, he oversees the day to day running of the firm, but he is also part of the corporate, commercial and finance department at KOA. He has cultivated vast experience in banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, intellectual property law, capital markets and general corporate advisory.
During the course of his career, he has advised and developed relationships with key clients in Uganda including Tullow Oil Uganda Limited, Sanlam Life Insurance Limited, Nile Breweries Limited (a subsidiary of AB InBev), the National Insurance Corporation, OPIC, the East African Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Limited, Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited, Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited, NC Bank Uganda Limited, CNOOC.
He is a Member of the Uganda and the East Africa Law Societies as well as a member of the Association of Registered Insolvency Practitioners.
He graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelors of Law and holds a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre.
John Musiime
Partner
Areas of Practice: Litigation
John Musiime is the head of the litigation practice at KOA/Dentons Uganda.
He started out his legal career at Byenkya, Kihika & Co. Advocates where he fast-rose from a Legal Associate in 2009 to become a Senior Associate by 2014. In 2016, he joined Kampala Associated Advocates, as an Associate Partner. He joined KOA/Dentons Uganda in 2019 as one of the founding partners.
He has offered advisory and litigation services in a number of industry changing judicial review disputes especially in Uganda’s Public Tertiary Education and Outdoor advertising sectors. He has also obtained quite a number of favourable results for lenders and borrowers alike in several high value lending and other commercial disputes.
He is the former President of The Rotaract Club of Kampala city and a Volunteer with Forum for African Women Educationalists Uganda (FAWEU) a Non-Governmental Organization.
John’s publications include A Simplified Version of The Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A case for Uganda and A Simplified Version of The Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006 in conjunction with the National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda (NUWODU) publications with the support of Federation of Uganda Employers’ Association (FUE), International Labour Organization (ILO) and Irish Aid.
He is a member of the Uganda and East Africa Law Societies.
John, graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelors of Law and also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre.
Isaac Newton Kyagaba
Partner
Areas of Practice: Construction law, employment and alternative dispute resolution with emphasis on Arbitration
At KOA/Dentons, Isaac leads the advisory unit on labour & human resources matters, construction law and dispute resolution.
In his 9-year career, he has acted as an advisor to 10 of the top 50 tax payers in Uganda in relation to, amongst others, complex and challenging restructurings, retrenchments or collective terminations, workplace violence and harassment, disciplinary matters, development of workplace policies and collective bargaining issues. He has also represented several clients in the Industrial Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Uganda.
He graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam with a Bachelors of Law and also holds a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre. In 2016 he completed an MBA in International Business from the Ecole Supérieure Libre des Sciences Commerciales Appliquées (ESLSCA) Business School.
He is currently pursuing a Masters of Law in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution at Leeds University.
He is a member of the Uganda and East Africa Law Societies, as well as a member of the International Bar Association.
Pearl Nyakabwa
Partner
Areas of Practice: Corporate advisory, restructurings, project finance, oil and gas, banking and securitization
Pearl is a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial practice. She provides general corporate advice as well as advice on a wide range of transactions including mergers and acquisitions, public private transactions, LMA type transactions, project financing among others. She has experience in drafting, advising and supporting clients in negotiations of various types of contracts.
Her experience spans corporate advisory, restructurings, project finance, oil and gas, banking and securitization practices.
Pearl spent two years on secondment at an international oil and gas major where she was advising management on the legal and contractual framework governing the company’s oil and gas project.
She started her legal career at Byenkya, Kihika and Co Advocates in 2009. In 2015, she joined Kampala Associated Advocates from whence she join KOA/Dentons Uganda.
She graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelors of Law and also holds an LLM in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
