MMAKS Advocates

Managing Partners: Timothy Masembe Kanyerezi, Moses Jurua Ariko

Number of partners: 8

Number of lawyers: 29

Firm Overview

MMAKS Advocates is a leading full-service law firm in Kampala with a long-standing reputation of quality and excellence. It is one of the largest firms in Uganda, with a total of 29 proficiently trained lawyers and a total support staff complement of 35. The firm is consistently ranked as a top tier firm by global ranking agencies. The firm combines a well-established litigation practice and commercial transactional practice, the latter being split further into projects, M&A, private equity, corporate advisory, intellectual property, banking and finance practice. MMAKS is a member of ALN, a leading independent association of top tier African law firms committed to working together to provide extensive coverage and share on-the-ground experience.

Main Areas of Practice

Banking & Finance:  

■ Advising the development finance institutions of the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Norway, (CDC Group plc, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (“FMO”) and Norfund) on their financing of Greenlight Planet. Greenlight Planet provides clean and green first-time energy access to households in areas with an unreliable or non-existent grid connection

Key Contact: Fiona Magona

Email: [email protected]

Corporate Advisory / Mergers Acquisitions:  

■ Advising I &M Holdings Limited on its acquisition of 100% (one hundred percent) of the share capital of Orient Bank Limited, a leading commercial bank in Uganda

■ Advising on the divestiture of Norfunds interest in SN Power AS and the subsequent restructuring of Norfund’s shareholding in SN Power’s Sub Saharan entities

■ Advising Echotel Proprietary Limited, one of the largest internet service providers in South Africa in connection with an acquisition of the entire business of iWay Africa Uganda Limited, one the leading African internet service providers offering solutions over satellite, fibre optic and wireless networks

■ Advising Apis Partners & Ascent Africa in connection with an acquisition of Platcorp Holdings Limited including conducting a due diligence in respect of the target’s Ugandan subsidiaries that is Premier Credit Limited and Platinum Credit Limited

■ Advising one of the largest companies in the world in the food ingredients, chilled foods and dairy industry in connection with its acquisition of the Afribon Group which has a subsidiary, Afribon (U) SMC Limited, in Uganda

Key Contact: Apollo Makubuya

Email: [email protected]

Key Contact: Fiona Magona

Email: [email protected]

Intellectual Property: 

■ Acting for Diageo in the cancellation and removal from the Register of a trademark similar to one of its globally well-known trademarks

■ Acting for Liberty Group Limited in the cancellation and removal from the Register of a trademark similar to its flagship brand and registered trademark

■ Defending ten commercial banks in a copyright litigation matter for a claim of copyright infringement on the software applied in the agency banking model in Uganda

■ Acting for authors in a breach of publishing agreement and copyright infringement matter against the largest publishing house in Uganda

■ Rendering intellectual property advice to Diageo, Cipla, Apple Inc., Union Des Association Europeenes De Football (UEFA), The Procter & Gamble Company, The Gilette Company, Harvard University, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Nike International Ltd, Puma S.E, Duracell Batteries BVBA, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, Novartis AG, KIA Motors Corporation, Unilever Plc, Huawei Technologies Co. and Nine West Development Corporation

Key Contact: Mathias Ssekatawa

Email: [email protected]

Litigation: 

■ Acting for the Central Bank in a landmark case in which the Court of Appeal agreed with MMAKS and clarified the long standing position of the law that an employer need not prescribe a reason for termination of an employee when they issue a notice of termination or pay in lieu of termination

■ Acting successfully for Samsung Electronics (EA) Ltd (“Samsung Kenya”) in a tax dispute against URA in which we challenged a Value Added Tax assessment of equivalent to about USD 470,000 for services provided by the Uganda branch to its Head office in Kenya, Samsung

■ Acting successfully for the Central Bank of Uganda in a Constitutional Petition where the main issue was whether the takeover, liquidation, revocation of license and sale of National Bank of Commerce by Bank of Uganda was unconstitutional

Key Contact: Timothy Masembe Kanyerezi

Email: [email protected]

Key Contact: Moses Adriko

Email: [email protected]

Mining, Oil & Energy: 

■ Advising the Government of Uganda and National Oil Company on the construction of the first ever oil refinery project in Uganda

■ Acting for responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding (rAREH), an investment company seeking to acquire a stake in 2 hydro power projects in Uganda

Key Contact: Apollo Makubuya

Email: [email protected]

Key Contact: Fiona Magona

Email: [email protected]

Projects & Infrastructure: 

■ Advising a government agency on a public private partnership for the construction of a proposed 77km express highway in Kampala, funded by the IFC

Key Contact: Apollo Makubuya

Email: [email protected]

Key Contact: Fiona N. Magona

Email: [email protected]

Real Estate: 

■ Advising MTN Uganda Limited on the acquisition of a commercial property to house their headquarters in Uganda valued at USD 11,000,000

■ Advising an international real estate development company on its USD 10,000,000 acquisition of a shopping mall in Kampala

Key Contact: Apollo Makubuya

Email: [email protected]

Key Contact: Stephen Zimula

Email: [email protected]

Clients

MMAKS clients include Bank of Uganda, ABC Capital Bank, Absa Bank Uganda Limited, Beiersdorf, Cavendish University Uganda, DEG, Development International Desjardins, DFCU Bank, Diamond Trust Bank Uganda, East African Development Bank, Exim Bank Uganda, FMO, Google Uganda, International Finance Corporation, Jubilee Insurance, KCB Bank Uganda, MTN Uganda, Nissan, Norfund, Proparco, Reynolds International, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Toyota, Uganda Telecom, Umeme, National Insurance Corporation, Prudential Plc, SBI International, Simba Group