The Firm
Built over four decades. Built for the next four.
Igweta Advocates is a pan-African law firm advising governments, global corporations, financial institutions and families on their most consequential matters across East Africa and beyond.
Our purpose
We exist to give the people who carry the heaviest decisions the clearest possible view of the law, and the courage to act on it. That has been our work since a two-advocate chamber opened on Kenyatta Avenue in 1987.
39
Years of practice since our founding in Nairobi
180+
Advocates across six offices and twelve jurisdictions
US$48bn
In transactions advised since 2015
94%
Of clients have instructed us for five years or more
How we work
Four principles, never negotiable.
- 01
Judgement over volume
We advise on fewer matters, more deeply. Partners lead every instruction from first call to final signature.
- 02
Regional by design
One partnership, one profit pool, six offices. Our clients get the best team for the matter, not the nearest one.
- 03
Discretion as a discipline
Many of our most important matters will never be announced. That is precisely why clients bring them to us.
- 04
Rule of law, in practice
Over 18,000 pro bono hours last year, from constitutional petitions to legal clinics for women entrepreneurs.
Our history
From one chamber to six cities.
1987
Founded on Kenyatta Avenue
Kiambi Igweta opens a two-advocate chamber in Nairobi focused on commercial litigation.
1996
The first landmark
The firm acts for the lenders on one of Kenya’s first project-financed power plants, establishing its finance practice.
2004
Beyond the border
Kampala opens, followed by Dar es Salaam in 2008, making Igweta a genuinely regional firm.
2013
Arbitration comes home
Our disputes team leads the first major investor–state arbitration seated in Nairobi.
2019
Kigali & London
New offices serve the Kigali International Financial Centre and investors arriving from the City.
2026
A new chapter
With 180 advocates and a record year, the partnership elects Wanjiru Kamau-Ochieng as Managing Partner.
Leadership
The partnership’s leadership.
Responsibility
Pro bono, inclusion and stewardship.
18,400
Pro bono hours in 2025, through legal clinics, constitutional petitions and support for social enterprises.
52%
Of our partners are women, and our pupillage cohorts reflect the diversity of the region we serve.
Net zero
Our operational target for 2032, with solar-powered offices in Nairobi and Kigali already in place.
120
Scholarships funded through the Igweta Foundation for law students from underrepresented counties.
- Tier 1 · Corporate & M&A · Kenya · 12 consecutive years
- East Africa Law Firm of the Year 2026
- Band 1 · Dispute Resolution · Kenya & Uganda
- Energy & Infrastructure Deal of the Year 2025
- Leading Firm · Banking & Finance · East Africa
- Pro Bono Firm of the Year · Africa 2025
- Tier 1 · Tax · Kenya
- Most Innovative Firm in Africa · Shortlist 2026
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