Anna K. WANJOHI
Senior Associate
EDUCATION BACKGROUND
2014 Post Graduate Diploma at the Kenya School of Law
2010-2013 LLB at Mt. Kenya University – Second class (honors) upper division
2007-2009 Diploma in Law at the Kenya School of Professional Studies – Credit
EXPERIENCE
Anna is a senior associate advocate in the Firm. She was admitted to the bar on 19th January 2016. She is also a notary public commissioner of oaths. She practices and leads the following business units:
- Real Estate Banking and Finance;
- Commercial/Business Law; and
- Corporate Charities and Trusts.
Previously, Anna was an associate at Dentons Hamilton Harrison and Mathews Advocates in the Corporate Commercial and Real Estate Department from 19th January 2016. Prior to that, she served as a conveyancing clerk in the same firm from 3rd August 2009.
Anna has successfully served clients in:
- property and banking securities due diligence. This includes data collection at the target or virtually from a data room, analyzing the data and preparing the relevant due diligence report. The link, (https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Egyptian-top-lender-gets-CBK-nod-to-buy-Mayfair-Bank/4003102-5533472-wciuy0/index.html), relates to one of the projects Anna participated in.
She has also participated in reviewing banking securities for one of the top tier banks in Kenya and prepared the due diligence report with the appropriate recommendations for the bank’s internal use;
- preparation and perfection of securities for banks and other financial institutions. One of the complex banking securities transaction handled was for over USD 48,000,000.00. It included a range of pledged securities, among them, parcels of land registered in different land registries. Most of these parcels of land had agricultural user hence coordination of different land control board meetings and obtaining the consents thereof. Other parcels had a county as the lessor requiring such county’s consent to charge. Among other formalities, this transaction involved preparation of weekly status reports for the client and overseeing the successful registration of the securities at the respective lands, companies and collateral registries within the statutory timelines.
- property development such as change of user, subdivision, amalgamation and extension of leases. Where a property is charged, the formalities in the development entailed:
- preparation of the relevant undertaking(s) for purposes of release of the charged title held by the bank as security;
- preparation of a discharge of charge and replacement charge;
- attending to the stamp duty exemption on the documents in (b) above by the Collector of Stamp Duty;
- registration of the discharge of charge against the charged title (prior to any property development herein, the title is required to be free of any encumbrances);
- obtaining the title with the new user (or extended term depending on the nature of development); and
- having the replacement charge registered against the new title.
- reorganization of property holding structure for individuals and corporate bodies for instance, transferring property to a family owned company and obtaining exemption from stamp duty by the Collector of stamp duty;
- preparation of deeds of power of attorney (and revocations thereof) for banks and having them registered in the respective land registries all over the country;
- processing of titles from allotment by the relevant allotting authorities, such as the National or County Governments, and land buying companies;
- compensation as a result of compulsory acquisition of land by the Government. One of the successful compensation handled relates to a client’s portion of land compulsorily acquired for the construction of an interchange along the Southern Bypass;
- sale and purchase of property. This include conventional and non-conventional sale and purchase such as:
- change of user (or other property development) as a condition precedent to the sale;
- where the seller has charged the property to a bank or other financial institution;
- where a purchaser is being financed;
- sale by a charge under private treaty; and
- sale of a unit in an off plan development.
- negotiation and preparation of short term leases for both commercial and residential uses. The tenancies handled include premises in prime commercial buildings while the residential ones include diplomatic tenants for purpose of occupation by their members of staff;
- advise on litigation matters touching on conveyancing, real estate and other areas of practice;
- succession matters including preparation of wills and transmission of assets to administrators and/or beneficiaries as the case may be;
- replacement of lost titles and reconstruction of land registers where the original land register is missing at the lands registry;
- advising and preparing the necessary instruments (including registration) for purposes of protecting a proprietor’s right (such as a restriction) or other interested party’s right say a purchaser or a beneficiary; and
- obtaining waiver of penalty on rates payable on a client’s parcel of land during a period when no waiver had been declared. This was achieved by invoking the discretionary powers of the respective County Government’s by laws.