East Africa 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Senior Legal Manager, Africa Operation Unit | Coca-Cola Central East and West Africa
Company Secretary, and General Manager-Legal Affairs | Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen)
Head, legal, transaction banking, Africa & Middle East | Standard Chartered Bank Kenya
Team Leader, legal, governance, risk and compliance | Zamara Actuaries, Administrators and Consultants
Group Vice President, Deputy Managing Director, and General Counsel | Trade and Development Bank Group - TDB Group
Head of Legal, compliance and regulatory affairs | Ruzizi III Energy
Head of legal, Kenya and East Africa Cluster | Standard Chartered Bank
East Market Area General Counsel | PricewaterhouseCoopers
Manager, Litigation and Regulatory Affairs | Ethiopian Airlines
Senior legal counsel | Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
Head of legal, wealth, retail banking Kenya and East Africa | Standard Chartered Bank Kenya
Head of Regulatory and Public Policy | Safaricom
Fred is a commercially savvy, pragmatic, and solutions-driven leader with over 20 years of experience spanning both corporate and private legal practice. He currently serves as Director, Regulatory Affairs and...
Chief Legal, Regulatory, and Corporate Governance Officer | Safaricom Ethiopia
Associate General Counsel | Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank
Director legal services/ regulatory compliance and company secretary | Kenya Airways
Company Secretary & Legal Advisor | Brassieres et Limonderies du Burundi Brarudi
Corporation Secretary & Director, Legal Services | Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA)
Executive Director, Africa | International Council of Beverages Associations (ICBA)
Legal and compliance manager, company secretary | Uganda Securities Exchange
Regional general counsel and company secretary | Africa Global Logistics
East and West Africa Region - Head of legal and regulatory affairs | Liquid Intelligent Technologies
Regional Head, Legal & Company Secretariat- East Africa | Interswitch East Africa (Kenya)
Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs/Company Secretary | ATC Uganda
Head of Legal East, Central & Southern Africa | Network International
Head of legal services & company secretary | Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company
Senior Manager - head of legal | MTC Trust & Corporate Services
Head, Legal, Client Coverage, Corporate and Investment Banking | Standard Chartered Bank Kenya
Company Secretary & Head Legal and compliance | Jubilee Allianz General Insurance Company
Head of corporate & legal affairs | Industrial Promotion Services (Kenya)
Head legal and company secretary | UAP Old Mutual Insurance Uganda and Old Mutual Investment Group Uganda (OMIG)
Legal Manager | Victoria Commercial Bank
Ruth Muasya is an accomplished legal professional with over 12 years of experience in corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, regulatory compliance and corporate governance. She currently serves as...
General Manager, Corporate Services/ Company Secretary | MTN Rwandacell
Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs – Africa | Inchcape
General counsel and chief compliance officer | Trinity Metals Group
Country Head of legal and compliance & company secretary | Standard Chartered Bank, Tanzania
It is with great pride that we present the second edition of the Legal 500 GC Powerlist: East Africa. Following the success of our inaugural edition, we have once again embarked on an extensive research initiative to spotlight the region’s most accomplished general counsel and senior in-house lawyers.
This year’s Powerlist reflects a legal landscape that is both vibrant and transformative. Across East Africa, general counsel are not only protecting their organisations but also steering them into new frontiers. Our research revealed that in-house lawyers are increasingly recognised as strategic partners, actively contributing to organisational growth and decision-making. As Daniel Wandera, group head of legal at Ramco Group, told us, “Legal is now seen as a value enabler, not just a compliance function.”
Equally, we found counsel adapting to an environment of rapid change, navigating digital disruption, ESG compliance, cross-border deals, and the fast-moving integration of AI into business processes. As Peris Wairimu Chege, head of legal at I&M Bank, observed, “Companies should adopt AI and integrate legal tech, and legal teams should be equipped to advise on AI risks.”
Beyond their legal expertise, the individuals recognised in this year’s edition demonstrate remarkable leadership, collaboration, and influence. They are not only trusted advisers but also business enablers and industry shapers. Patricia Nyokabi Mbugua of Standard Chartered Bank reflected on this evolution, noting, “This ‘get-in-early’ approach has earned us the reputation of being business enablers.”
Taken together, these stories show us that East Africa’s general counsel community is driving change far beyond the legal department. They are shaping business strategy, guiding innovation, and influencing society at large. We are honoured to recognise these outstanding professionals whose insight, resilience, and leadership continue to inspire. Their work not only strengthens their organisations but also builds the foundations of a robust in-house legal culture across East Africa. A special thanks to our sponsor ENSAfrica who has contributed to making this edition a reality. Congratulations to all listed in the GC Powerlist East Africa 2025!
Melissa Yebisi
Editor
Legal 500
Legal 500 was proud to host the second edition of the GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 in Nairobi, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. This year’s reception brought together over 100 of the most influential and innovative corporate counsel from the region, and was an unrivalled success, cementing Legal 500’s role as the leading voice in recognising in-house legal excellence across Africa.
The evening was opened by Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC Powerlist publication at Legal 500, who highlighted the growing prestige of the East Africa edition and the increasing challenge of selecting honourees from such a deep (and rapidly growing) pool of talent.
Guests were then treated to some particularly relevant insights from distinguished speakers. Rachel Musoke, Head of ENS Uganda, delivered a thoughtful welcome that reflected on the importance of collaboration between private practice and in-house teams. This was followed by a powerful keynote from Habil Waswani, Company Secretary & Director Legal Services and Regulatory Compliance at Kenya Airways, who shared reflections on leadership, regulatory stewardship, and the evolving role of corporate counsel in East Africa.
The highlight of the evening was the certificate ceremony, where this year’s honourees were formally recognised. Certificates were presented by senior representatives of ENS, including Désiré Kamanzi (head of ENS Rwanda), Rachel Musoke, Nigel Shaw (head of ENS Kenya), Donald Nyakairu (Partner, ENS Uganda), Dieudonne Nzafashwanayo (partner, ENS Rwanda) and Binti Shah (Partner, ENS Kenya) whose participation underlined the depth of the firm’s support for the GC Powerlist initiative.
The GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 reaffirmed The Legal 500’s commitment to shining a spotlight on the region’s most talented in-house lawyers. With an even stronger field of candidates, this year’s edition stands as a powerful testament to the influence and expertise of East Africa’s legal leaders. Habil Waswani’s excellent speech, which got a raucous reception from those in the room, is reproduced below with his permission:
‘My name is Habil Waswani, and I have been an inhouse legal practitioner for the past 21 years in different sectors (having done law-firm practice for 2 years before that). Tt is indeed a true privilege and honour for me to be here tonight, surrounded by the sharpest legal minds and calmest crisis-handlers the East African corporate world has to offer.
First, let me thank the Legal 500 and ENSAfrica teams, for organising such a fantastic event and for bringing us together in such style. Congratulations to each of tonight’s honourees. You represent the very best of general counsel in this very dynamic corporate space the businesses we support operate in. Strategic, ethical, resilient, and, let’s be honest, often underappreciated leaders of industry.
I am so happy that this evening is not about contracts, or compliance checklists, or board packs. Tonight is about celebrating you, the people behind all of that. The steady hands guiding companies through complexities, uncertainties, and ensuring that the opportunities that lie within those difficult circumstances are lawfully realized.
We all know the role of GCs has evolved. We are no longer tucked away at the end of a corridor marked “Legal” or labelled the proverbial “cost centres”. These days, the GCs sit at the big table – helping drive corporate strategy, shaping desired culture, providing leadership and safeguarding business reputations. We have become indispensable partners to businesses, interpreters, navigators, protectors… and on some (many) days, therapists with law degrees. And yet, we mostly do it all so quietly. No victory laps, no press releases. Often, success for us means the expected disaster didn’t happen.
But tonight, we break that rule. Tonight, we raise a glass to the GCs who’ve blazed the trail courageously, with clarity, conviction, and tremendous resilience that only matches the expectations of the Leadership Guru John Maxwell when he said, “resilient leaders don’t wait for the storm to past — they learn to dance in the rain”. You have managed to balance growth and governance, risk and reward regularly. And, of course, always managed to deal with those 10pm messages: “Hey, just a quick question…Are you able to talk right now…?”
Let this evening serve as a reminder that you are not just experienced legal advisors. You are leaders — spear heads and enablers of execution — and without a doubt critical pillars of business strategy.
To all the honourees, congratulations once again for the well-deserved recognition. This is for the heavy lifting that you do, the standards you uphold, and the impact you make – quietly, consistently, and brilliantly so. You’ve earned this spotlight.
