Biography

George is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over 22 years of experience. He is a Partner of Munyao, Muthama & Kashindi Advocates (MMK Advocates) previously in charge of the Nairobi office (now on sabbatical) and Member of Tax Appeals Tribunal. George started his legal career in the well- known firm of Rachier and Amollo where he gained a wealth of experience in a broad spectrum of legal matters. Subsequent to leaving Rachier & Amollo, George trained at the Kenya Revenue Authority Training Institute for 2 years and thereafter worked at Kenya Revenue Authority as Senior Legal Counsel for 5 years. With this background, George has a very solid understanding of the tax policy and legislative framework and has many years’ experience in litigation, tax dispute resolution, tax investigations and prosecutions, interpretation of the tax statutes and advising on tax policy and legislation. He possesses a wealth of knowledge in dealings with senior revenue and treasury officials. He holds an LLM in Financial Services with a specialisation in tax and has acted in a number of jurisprudence setting tax matters.

George has extensive experience in regulatory and compliance advisory and litigation and has acted for a number of Kenya’s leading regulators including the Kenya Airports Authority, Communication Authority, Agriculture Food Authority, Energy Regulatory Commission, Kenya Forest Service, Engineers Board of Kenya, National Transport and Safety Authority, NGOs Coordination Board, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, National Hospital Insurance Fund to name but a few. He is well versed in regulatory law and practice, compliance and governance matters.

George has extensive experience in conducting legal, regulatory, compliance and governance audits and is respected in this field as a leading expert. He has conducted the audits on blue chip companies listed in the bourse, leading corporates, parastatals and other government entities among other clients. His previous and existing clients include Safaricom, Post Bank, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), National Hospital Insurance Fund, and Technical University of Mombasa among others. The highly rated Legal, Compliance and Governance Audit practice headed by George is accredited by the Law Society of Kenya.

George also advises clients on public procurement, NGOs and Charities law, employment and labour relations, energy and natural resources, immigration among others. He is also in charge of running training portfolio of the firm.

Educational and professional qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws, University of Nairobi 2000
• Diploma in Law, Kenya School of Law 2001
• Admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, 2002
• Masters Degree in law (Financial Services Law), University of Nairobi 2017

Membership in professional associations

• Law Society of Kenya

Career history

• Pupilage: Rachier & Company Advocates, 2000-2001
• Management Trainee: Kenya Revenue Authority Training Institute, 2001-2002
• Senior Legal Counsel: Kenya Revenue Authority, 2002-2007
• Partner: Munyao, Muthama & Kashindi- 2009 to date

Work Highlights

Legal, governance, compliance, regulatory audits.

• Team leader in conducting legal, compliance and regulatory audits which entail  It reviewed the client’s internal policies, practices and operations of the governing bodies and various departments to assess their compliance with the relevant laws including the Constitution, the establishing  and regulating statutes and subsidiary legislation. The previous and existing clients include Safaricom, Post Bank, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), National Hospital Insurance Fund, and Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya Literature Bureau, Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Post Office Savings Bank among others.
• Team leader in reviewing the legal and policy frameworks to strengthen integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in Kenya
• Team leader of the corporate governance practice area and has been involved in reviewing clients’ corporate governance structures and giving advice on legal, compliance and governance requirements. He has offered tailor made presentations and training sessions to clients’ board members and senior executives on corporate governance and other applicable legal and compliance requirements.
• Advised clients on risk assessment and implementation of risk mitigating measures relating but not limited to directors duties, anti-corruption/bribery, anti-money laundering among others.

Tax

• Assisted a leading audit firm in challenging a tax assessment raised by KRA in excess ofKshs 600,000 million against an international NGO operating in the Kenya and the region. The case involved complex legal points relating to expatriate tax, installment tax, definition and meaning of residency and interpretation of a number of statutory provisions.
• Acted for one of the largest Container Freight Terminals in Mombasa that had been shut down by the Commissioner of Customs Services after a huge assessment of tax. The case successfully challenged the Commissioner of Custom’s power to close the facility and addressed other complex customs legal issues.
• Represented one of the largest private universities in successfully pursuing a waiver of tax penalties and interest resulting from an initial assessment of tax by KRA amounting to KShs. 70 million.
• Represented a leading company operating in the horticultural sector in appealing a tax assessment of over Kshs 200 million.
• Represented a leading Italian company headquartered in Rome Italy running a space research project in Malindi to successfully challenge enforcement action by KRA of freezing the company’s bank accounts. The case addressed developing jurisprudence of striking a proper balance between the enforcement powers of the tax man viv a vis the need to protect a tax payer from the risk of substantial hardship including total collapse due to enforcement action. The court was persuaded to set aside an earlier order for the client to furnish security of a substantial amount and granted an unconditional stay of enforcement action. The monetary exposure was over Kshs 160 million.
• Represented a leading export trading company in challenging tax assessment in excess of Ksh 300 million and dealing with complex tax issues touching on various WTO rules including the non-discrimination principle, rules of origin, East African Common tariff classification, and an array of constitutional and administrative law issues.

Regulatory advisory and dispute resolution

• Representing and advising an array of regulators of various sectors and public bodies on a wide range of issues and claims airing from their exercise of their regulatory and statutory mandates. Kenya Airports Authority, Communication Authority, Agriculture Food Authority, Energy Regulatory Commission, Kenya Forest Service, Engineers Board of Kenya, National Transport and Safety Authority, NGOs Coordination Board, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, National Hospital Insurance Fund to name but a few.

Energy

• Represented a regulator in the energy sector against representative/class action public interest and consumer protection related claims made against the regulator and other players in the sector concerning several issues touching on electric power billing tariffs among other issues.  The value of some of the matters in contention is over Kshs 10 billion.
• Representing a regulator in the energy sector against a representative/class action public interest and consumer protection related claims made against the regulator and other government agencies touching on key issues in the energy sector such as power generation, power purchase agreements, deemed energy, financing of power generation projects, Government guarantees, electricity transmission and an array of constitutional issues. The value of the matters under consideration is over Kshs 100 billion.
• Team leader in conducting a legal and regulatory audit of a leading player in the energy sector. The audit included visiting critical their installations across the country, reviewing local and international contractual agreements, advising on Power Purchase Agreements, reviewing board and management operations, identifying and advising on legal risks.  
• Acted for a Government entity operating in the energy sector in responding to compliance summons issued by a County Government relating to their installations within the county.
• Acted for a company operating in the geothermal sector in defending a contractual claim of substantial amount of money relating to a multi-lateral donor- funded project for drilling and extraction of steam through the innovative well-head technology.

Public Procurement

• Represented a leading Chinese firm which was a successful bidder in a multi-billion donor funded project for the Water and Sanitation Improvement project awarded by one of the public bodies operating in the water sector, in successfully opposing a challenge instituted by a losing bidder before the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board. The matter involved key procurement issues and jurisprudence touching on among other things, locus standi of applicants in a joint venture.
• Representing the same Chinese firm in separate proceedings instituted by a different bidder but relating to the same award. Acted for the firm both before the Administrative Review Board and the High Court. The cases addressed notable public procurement matters including the Board’s jurisdiction in disputes emanating from donor funded projects and projects the subject to negotiated grants.
• Represented a leading supplier and retailer of tyres and accessories before the Public Procurement and Appeals Review Board in dispute relating to a multi-million tender awarded by a public body in based in Mombasa and operating in the ports sector. The challenge succeeded before the Board but was subsequently overturned on appeal to the High Court.

Non-Governmental and Charities

• Retained by several charitable, not for profit and religious organisations on an array of issues ranging from registration processes and documentation, regulatory compliance, tax advice, labour law matters, court representation and advice on contracting processes. Such NGOs include but not limited to Helpage, International Republican Institute, Food For the Hungry among others.

Employment and labour relations

• Represented and advised an array of clients drawn from various sectors in a wide range of employment and labour related matters including representations in court, drafting of employee contracts, drafting and reviewing polices and manuals, advice on termination, dismissals,  redundancies and restructuring, managing employee-exists, advice on collective bargaining and negotiations, secondment, outsourcing among others.