Ruth Kisiah

Principal Associate

+254 20 271 3977

ruth@koassociates.co.ke

Ruth is a Principal Associate in the Projects in Energy & Infrastructure Practice of the firm. She is responsible for high level legal advisory work, transaction management and team coordination and provides critical support to the practice leader in ensuring quality legal outputs in the area of expertise being  projects in energy, infrastructure, trade and investments. She is also responsible for overall management of the Projects department risks and scaling up our client-portfolio for growth.

She is adept at providing commercial law advice, contract drafting, undertaking legal compliance and audit and corporate and project finance. She has worked with both state and non-state actors in Kenya and also has vast experience in legislative drafting, corporate governance and policy formulation, PPPs and infrastructure and mergers and acquisitions.

Transaction Highlights

• Conducted a legal audit and provided legal and governance advisory services for the largest SACCO in Kenya by asset base. The engagement entailed reviewing existing policies and procedures underpinning the client’s legal and compliance functions to determine their adequacy in meeting regulatory and other compliance obligations. Developed a comprehensive inventory of applicable compliance requirements and carried out a detailed compliance risk assessment to identify potential risks, evaluate existing controls and highlight gaps requiring remediation.
• Provided Transaction Advisory services in relation to the conversion of an existing contract between a financial institution and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) for the issuance of second-generation smart card driving licenses into a long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, structured as a 30-year Strategic Partnership Agreement. The project encompassed the supply of smart driving licenses and associated services including Instant Fines enablement system, Demerit Point Capability enablement and Financial Wallet capability under a PPP arrangement.
• Successfully led Transaction Advisory support for the conversion and transfer of the national smart driving license program facilitating the seamless transition of the project from one financial institution to another in compliance with Section 9(4) of the Banking Act. The engagement involved supporting regulatory, commercial, and legal approvals for the transfer.
• Engaged on retainer in updating the Legal, Policy, and Institutional Review of the Affordable Housing Sector in Kenya (“Gitbook”) for the Centre of Affordable Housing Program.
• Advised on a pilot energy infrastructure project involving the proposed supply of power from a digital infrastructure company’s telecommunication masts to those of a leading mobile network operator providing Transaction Advisory support on structuring, regulatory considerations, and potential PPP frameworks.
• Provided legal support in the development of by-laws, investment policies, capacity-building initiatives, and stakeholder sensitization programs to strengthen municipal governance in Lamu County and Wote Municipality.
• Structured and led fundraising for a local-currency structured note program in Kenya, designed to provide financing to MFIs and FinTechs for SME on-lending and successfully developed the deal pipeline and secured investor commitments.
• Provided transaction advisory support for the Nairobi City County Smart Street Lighting PPP Project for the modernisation and retrofitting of 110,000 streetlights in Nairobi, encompassing legal due diligence, advisory on the PPP Project structure, advisory on public procurement regulations, stakeholder engagements and drafting project documentation.
• Conducted a legal employment audit and training to a manufacturing company on the legal loopholes in its employment procedures and how to address them through its internal policies.
• Part of the team that was involved in a series of connected transactions for a foreign investor seeking to set up operations in Kenya including providing advice on the acquisition of properties whose cumulative value was KSH 0.8 Billion. The brief involved advising the client on the most viable structure for the transaction, undertaking the incorporation of the appropriate investment vehicle and facilitate the transfer of properties to the new entity.
• Advised an organization in the ICT sector on the implication of the Data Protection Act on its mandate and developed a data information sharing policy.
• Advised a mobile and telecommunication company on the feasibility of investing in Kenya through a public-private partnership, the minimum contractual obligations in a PPP arrangement, and the summary of the PPP project cycle in Kenya.
• Advised a state-owned agency in the ICT sector on the development of regulations and the setting up of the National ICT Authority to address an existing legal gap, aiming to elevate the country’s global ranking.
• Analyzed the Pharmacy and Poisons Act against the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool for Evaluation of National Regulatory Systems of Medical Products. Consequently, developed various Rules to enable the effective implementation of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act to comply with global best practices.
• Drafted various regulations on behalf of a state-owned agency in the ICT Sector. These regulations aim to address various legislation gaps and to ensure Kenya aligns itself with the future of this digital world and global economy by spearheading the growth of ICT.
• Drafted amendments to various Employment Laws to address specific challenges in Business Process Outsourcing and Information Technology Enabled Services.

Education

• Finalist, CPS(K) (2024)
• Certificate in Legal & Legislative Drafting, East Africa Law Society Institute (EALS) (2023)
• Certificate in Public Private Partnerships, Strathmore University (2022)
• Postgraduate Diploma, Kenya School of Law (2021)
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Hons, University of Nairobi (2019)

Languages

• English
• Kiswahili

Countries of Work Experience

• Kenya

 Citizenship

• Kenyan