Festus Akunobera

Partner

Biography

Festus is a partner at ABMAK Associates, and leader of the firm’s tax practice.

Festus holds a Master of Laws (in Internation Tax ) from New York Unversity, where he was the recipient of the prestigious Hauser Global Scholarship. He holds a Bachelors of Laws (First Class Honours) from Makerere University, where he won prestigious Chief Justice’s Prize as the overall student. He repeated this feat at the Law Development Centre.

Festus has over 18 years experience advising on complex tax matters for high profile projects and transactions.

Practice Areas

Tax Advisory and Structuring
Tax Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Technology, Media and Telecommunications
Mergers and Acquisitions
REITs Structuring and Advisory

Memberships and Affiliations

Uganda Law Society
East Africa Law Society
New York State Bar Association
American Bar Association

Representative Matters

Festus successfuly acted as lead counsel for Heritage Oil & Gas in USD 434M Tax Dispute aganist the Uganda Revenue Authority.
He acted as lead tax counsel for American Tower Corporation in its acquisition of the Eaton Towers Group.
He appeared as an expert witness on Ugandan tax law in the dispute between Tullow and Heritage before the London Commericial Court.
He acted as counsel for the SICPA Group in its acquisition of GFI, and on its track-and-trace and fuel intergrity solutions in Uganda.
He represented EACOP sponsors in negotiating the EACOP fiscal package with the Government of Uganda, and the drafting of Shedule 2 (Agreed Fiscal Regime) of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) (Special Provisions) Act.
He acted for RippleNami, Inc. in its negotiations with the Government of Uganda for the implementation of the Rental Tax Compliance Sytem in Uganda.

Qualifications

Master of Laws (International in Taxation) (International in Taxation) Hauser Global Taxation Scholar.
New York University
Bachelor of Laws ( First Class Honours), Chief Justice’s Prize for Best Student.
Makerere University Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Law Development Centre, Kampala (Cheif Justice’s Award)