Odhiambo Obonyo

Obonyo is a Senior Associate with the firm’s Dispute Resolution department. He advises and represents clients on a wide array of issues, including criminal and civil litigation, white collar, international arbitration, Employment law, Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering, product liability and complex commercial disputes.

Obonyo is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Commissioner for Oaths and a Notary Public. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law.

• Member, Law Society of Kenya.
  Member, East Africa Law Society.
• Member, Insolvency Law Committee of the East Africa Law Society.
• Member, Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Committee of the Law Society of Kenya.

2022: Strathmore University- Data Protection Course-Centre for Intellectual Property & Information Technology Law.

2019: ICCA Advocacy Training-The Inns of Court College of Advocacy

2017: Admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya

2015: Postgraduate Diploma in Law, Kenya School of Law

2014: LL.B, (Hons) (Second Class Upper Division), The Catholic University of Eastern Africa

April 2024 – Date: Senior Associate, Anjarwalla & Khanna

Jan 2021 – March 2024: Principal Associate, Anjarwalla & Khanna

Aug 2017 – Dec 2020: Associate, Anjarwalla & Khanna

Jan 2016 – Jul 2017: Trainee Lawyer, Anjarwalla & Khanna

Dispute Resolution

• Successfully defended Phibro Animal Health Corporation in a suit seeking an order for entry of judgement in relation to a the bill of costs filed under Section 51 of the Advocates Act and Order 50 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010.
• Successfully represented Dr. Chui Bing Sun and Checkmate Capital in connection with a complex international gold scam case against several individuals in Kenya before the High Court and obtainng interim orders freezing bank accounts belonging to two (2) law firms in Kenya, interrogatories directed at the banks involved in the fraud and ordered for tracing of assets purchased used the proceeds of crimes.
• Successfully representing Kenya Airways (KQ), the national airline of Kenya and one of the largest airlines in Africa, a constitutional petition seeking to challenge KQ’s Ab Initio Pilots Training Programme, a scheme through which KQ trains its future pilots with no prior experience, and KQ’s foreign-based pilot training programmes.
• Successfully acting for an international tours and travel company in connection with a constitutional petition against Kenya Revenue Authority, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Attorney General in connection with a KES 500 milion tax demand, in which the court held that the DCI’s demanding of production of documents from the Petitioner by use of threats infringed on the Petitioner’s constitutional right to silence and right to refuse to give self-incriminating evidence.
• Acting for a multinational confectionery company in connection with a land dispute in Kenya involving one of its local subsidiaries.
• Defending Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company, in connection with contesting a suit filed in the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi by MITS Electrical Company (MITS) on account of alleged breach of various distributorship agreements. In the suit, MITS have sought damages of about KES 1.3 billion.
• Successfully defending a client in connection with a class action suit instituted by residents of Busia County in connection with a negligence arising from consumption of alleged contaminated sodas.
• Successfully representing the Aga Khan Council for Kenya in a criminal private prosecution of one of its former officials in the criminalisation of a civil dispute.
• Successfully acting for and defending Embakasi Industrial Projects in connection with a case of double allocation of land at the Environment and Land Court in Machakos.
• Acting for Cancer Care Kenya in connection with the acquisition of their shares by Healthcare GlobalKenya, a private comprehensive cancer centre, the first one in the East African region.

Tax Disputes

• Successfully acting for the Kenya Association of Manufacturers with at the High Court in connection with a constitutional petition against the KRA, the Attorney General and National Assembly, challenging the constitutionality of the of Section 12D of the income Tax Act that instroduced minimum tax in Kenya, which was eventually declared unconstitutional.
• Acting for a top oil marketer and distributor in Uganda against the Ugandan Revenue Authority (URA) concerning a UGX 2,488,646,440 tax demand by URA before the East African Court of Justice-Appellate Division.

Arbitration

• Successfully acted for a client, a 5,000-acre mixed-use development, in a construction dispute against a contractor involving a claim for approximately KES 600 million before the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration.
• Currently acting for a multinational company concerning an investor state dispute against the Government of the Republic of Mozambique.
• Acting for a minority shareholder in an arbitration before the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators-Kenya, against unfair, prejudicial, and oppressive actions undertaken by majority shareholders.

Employment

• Successfully defending the Forum for Africa Women Educationist, a pan-African non-governmental organisation founded that promotes girls’ and women’s education in sub-Saharan Africa, against an employment claim brought by a former consultant.
• Successfully acting for Altron Bytes Kenya in connection with an employment matter filed by one of its former employees before the Employment and Labour Relation Courts.
• Acting for and advising a large multinational company in the agricultural and manufacturing industry in connection with various employment disputes filed in Nyeri, Migori and Kisumu.
• Successfully acted for Schneider Electric Kenya, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, in connection with several employment disputes filed by their former employees before the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
• Successfully acting for, on a pro bono matter, the family of Mr. Nazmuddin Habib Kassam Kurji in connection with an employment suit filed by a former employee whose termination of employment was occasioned by the illegal eviction of the Kurji family from their home by unscrupulous land grabbers who demolished the Kurji family’s residence.
• Successfully acting for Altron Bytes Kenya in connection with an employment matter filed by one of its former employees before the Employment and Labour Relation Courts.
• Acting for Balton CP, a UK-based multinational in the technology and agricultural industry, with operations in several African countries, in connection with various civil suits before the Labour & Employment Court and the High Court in relation to several claims.
• Acting for BIC East Africa (BIC) in connection with an employment suit against the BIC at the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
• Acting for Nanovas International Kenya, the operator of the betPawa, a Kenyan betting company licensed by Softpawa UK, in connection with a number of employment matters filed by some of its former employees and advising them on conducting disciplinary procedures.

Fraud and Anti-Corruption

• Advising a large multinational in connection with the Kenyan anti-bribery law, liability of companies and their officers, extra-territoriality issues, and the scope and extent of regulators’ powers of investigation.
• Advising Fortescue Future Industries on bribery, fraud, anti-money laundering, employment law, compliance and whistleblowing law in Kenya.
• Acting for Dr. Chui Bing Sun and Checkmate Capital in connection with a complex international gold scam case against several individuals in Kenya before the High Court and obtaining interim orders freezing bank accounts belonging to two (2) law firms in Kenya, interrogatories directed at the banks involved in the fraud and ordered for tracing of assets purchased used the proceeds of crimes.
• Acting for a large multinational independent power producer on Kenyan anti-bribery law, the liability of companies and their officers, extra-territoriality issues, and the scope and extent of regulators’ powers of investigation.
• Acting for a multinational financial corporation in connection with its proposed use of Automatic Billing Updater in relation to updating its customer’s information in Kenya, including providing regulatory advice.

Capital Markets

• Advising the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya in connection with its proposed guidelines on Global Depository Receipts and Global Depository Notes.
• Advising a non-deposit taking microfinance institution in connection with its listing on the Growth Enterprise Market Segment of the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Insolvency

• Acting for African Cotton Industries and Gold Crown Beverages Kenya in connection with an insolvency petition involving Nakumatt Holdings (which was one of Kenya’s biggest retail chain valued at USD 407 million) in connection with its failure to pay its outstanding debts.

Probate and Succession

• Successfully acting for a private client in connection with the acquisition of a grant of probate in a succession matter filed in the Isle of Man Courts of Justice.