CEO East Africa Magazine recently came across four corporate and commercial lawyers, working in Kuwait. And they are not just lawyers, three of them are Partners, and the other is a Senior Associate, at ASAR – Al Ruwayeh and Partners, a leading tier-one Kuwaiti corporate law firm.
ASAR is also one of the most prominent firms operating across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the Middle East. ASAR has been operating in the State of Kuwait since 1977, and in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 2006.
The firm has consistently been ranked by IFLR1000 and Chambers & Partners as one of the top law firms.
The lawyers are Ezekiel Tuma (Partner), Christopher Walugembe (Partner), Akusa Batwala (Partner) and Brenda Ntambirweki (Senior Associate).
Ezekiel and Akusa have been working at ASAR – Al Ruwayeh and Partners since 2008, while Christopher joined in 2010. Brenda joined the law firm in 2014.
Ezekiel Tuma
Partner
Ezekiel is a corporate and finance lawyer, whose practice areas range from aviation banking & finance, corporate, capital markets & securities, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, restructuring & insolvency as well as venture capital.
At ASAR – Al Ruwayeh and Partners, he has led numerous cross-border and local transactions. He regularly advises on private equity and venture capital transactions and is routinely engaged by founders and investors alike in connection to start-up businesses.
Ezekiel also advises on financing and acts for both borrowers and lenders with regard to their financing transactions ranging from local bilateral deals to complex cross-border syndicated facilities and project financing. He also advises on acquisition financing, which dovetails seamlessly with his corporate work.
Ezekiel is widely experienced in handling restructurings as well as insolvency-related work, having acted in the vast majority of major Kuwait restructurings since he joined the firm. He has advised lenders and borrowers on a range of local and cross-border restructurings.
Furthermore, Ezekiel acts for aircraft manufacturers, leasing companies, aircraft owners and operators regarding the sale, purchase, leasing and financing of aircraft and engines.
Ezekiel has been consistently recognised as a leader in his fields of expertise by leading legal publications such as Chambers and Partners and the IFLR 1000.
Ezekiel holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), from Makerere University and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Commercial Law (first class), from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, from Uganda’s Law Development Centre. He is a member of the Uganda Law Society, East Africa Law Society and the International Bar Association.
Akusa Batwala
Partner
Akusa is a corporate and commercial lawyer and has worked with ASAR since 2008.
She started at S&L Advocates (formerly Sebalu & Lule Advocates) as an Associate before moving to MTN Uganda as a Commercial Legal Advisor in 2004. In March 2008, she joined ASAR Al-Ruwayeh and Partners as a Senior Associate until June 2017, when she was elevated to Partner.
She possesses significant experience in a wide range of corporate and commercial law matters including the representation of local and foreign clients in employment, insurance, construction and agency/distributorship-related matters. Akusa has also been extensively involved in some of the most prominent and groundbreaking PPP projects in Kuwait, in which she has been involved in advising the government of the State of Kuwait, and sponsor consortiums and lenders.
Her major practice areas are Public Private Partnerships and Private Finance Initiative (PPP & PFI) Projects, Data Protection & Privacy, Government, Procurement, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Media, Communication & Technology, Agency & Distributorship, Employment, Insurance and Construction.
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She was called to the Bar in England and Wales, in 2001 and in Uganda, in 2003. She is a Member of the Honorable Society of the Lincolns Inn (United Kingdom), and the International Bar Association.
Christopher Walugembe
Partner
Christopher is a corporate and commercial lawyer and has been with ASAR since February 2010.
Before joining the firm, he worked at MMAKS Advocates where he started his legal practice, in the Commercial and Corporate Law Department. He then lectured at Makerere University Business School and later at Makerere University until January 2010 when he moved to ASAR Al-Ruwayeh & Partners as a Senior Associate. In November 2020, he got elevated to Partner in the Corporate Law Department
He wields comprehensive experience in a variety of corporate and commercial law areas, having represented several Kuwaiti and foreign clients in franchising and the establishment of Kuwaiti companies, employment, competition law, mergers and acquisitions and agency/distributorship-related matters.
His core practice areas include agency & distributorship, corporate, employment, franchising, competition, mergers & acquisitions as well as data protection & privacy.
Christopher completed his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from Makerere University, in 2004 and his Master of Laws (LLM) in Corporate and Commercial law (first class honours), from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 2006. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Bar Course), from Uganda’s Law Development Center.
He is a member of the Uganda Law Society and East Africa Law Society.
Brenda Ntambirweki
Senior Associate
Brenda Ntambirweki is a corporate and commercial lawyer and a Senior Associate at ASAR since 2014.
Before joining ASAR, she worked at Kampala Associated Advocates as an Associate (between 2008 and 2010). She then worked at S&L Advocates (Sebalu & Lule Advocates) between January 2011 and October 2013. She joined ASAR-AL Ruwayeh & Partners in January 2014 as an Associate and has since worked her way up to become a Senior Associate.
Her major practice areas include Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Competition, Aviation, Banking & Finance, Restructuring & Insolvency as well as Venture Capital.
She has wide knowledge and experience in corporate, mergers & acquisitions as well as banking & finance. She has represented a number of clients in corporate acquisitions and corporate restructuring advised clients on structuring corporate vehicles for undertaking acquisition transactions, as well as advised various local and international lenders on both conventional and Islamic financing transactions. She has also participated in a number of Kuwaiti and cross-border corporate finance transactions and asset finance especially aircraft leasing and debt restructuring.
Brenda completed a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honors), from Makerere University Kampala, and another Bachelor of Civil Law, from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Uganda’s Law Development Centre.
She is a member of the Uganda Law Society and the East African Law Society.
