Sarah Kagwe is a senior associate in our Nairobi office and a member of the Banking and Finance department.

Her key areas of specialization include but are not limited to securities, banking and finance, construction, property development and conveyancing law as well as general corporate and commercial law.

Sarah has vast experience in banking, finance and securities transactions with her practice focusing on structuring, negotiating and documenting financial as well as real estate transactions. These include real estate and mortgage financing, aircraft and asset finance to mention a few.

As part of her role, Sarah has been involved in advising a range of domestic and international banks and financial institutions, corporate and individual borrowers and other entities seeking to borrow; as well as institutional and private real estate developers. She is also involved in carrying out legal and compliance audits of listed companies with a specific focus on property and securities.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) Degree from the University of Nairobi and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law, from the Kenya School of Law. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, and a member of the Law Society of Kenya.

Relevant Experience

• Advising various local and international lenders in preparation, negotiations and review of facility agreements, security documentation and perfection of securities, legal opinions, professional undertakings and bank guarantees. The lenders include:
  • Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited;
  • Bank of Africa Kenya Limited;
  • Equity Bank (Kenya) Limited;
  • Commercial Bank of Africa Limited;
  • The Co-operative Bank of Kenya Limited;
  • Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited;
  • NIC Bank Kenya PLC;
  • UBA Kenya Bank Limited; and
  • Barak Fund SPC.
• Conducting due diligence, KYC/AML and CP checks on behalf of local and international lenders in respect of borrowers.
• Advising client on transaction documentation and lease of commercial space on Fortis Towers, a dynamic commercial development comprising of 10 floors in Nairobi’s business hub of Westlands.
• Advising the Othaya Group on project structuring and transaction documentation on the development of first log homes in Kenya which are energy efficient and more environmentally friendly developments in comparison to regular stone and concrete buildings earning the developer “green” credits for natural log construction.
• Advising Mansion & General Homes in its joint venture with PDM Kenya an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network to develop Fairfield Gardens luxury town houses fitted with exquisite furnishings, fixtures and sanitary ware from Europe.
• Advising Commercial Bank of Africa Limited in its lending of KES 550 million to Fairfield Gardens to finance development of luxury town houses in Syokimau, Machakos.
• Advising UBA Kenya Bank Limited in its financing facilities of KES 500 millionto ARM Cement PLC, one of Kenya’s largest manufacturers of cement, fertilizers, lime, industrial minerals and sodium silicate which is also listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Carrying out due diligence on the borrower, drafting the security and discharge documents for incoming and some outgoing lenders as well as drafting and negotiating an inter-lenders agreement to govern the relations and security sharing agreements amongst six lenders.

• Kenya: Launch of the National Lands Information Management System (NLIMS)