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SAGANA,BIRIQ&MUGANDA

Winnie A. Kungu

Principal Associate

Advocate of the High Court of Kenya | 2019

Professional Summary

Ms. Kungu is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over eight years of post-admission experience in both the public and private sectors. She is a Certified Secretary (CS), Certified Legal Auditor, and Arbitrator, with extensive expertise in litigation, banking and financial services law, insolvency, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, legislative drafting, and public policy.

She has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality legal research, drafting persuasive pleadings and legal opinions, and successfully representing clients before both subordinate and superior courts. She has managed matters from initial client instructions through litigation strategy, court representation, stakeholder engagement, and final resolution.

An experienced governance and compliance professional, Ms. Kungu has led legal, regulatory, and data protection audits for leading Corporate Clients, State Corporations, and government entities. Her work includes AI policy research, data protection compliance assessments, and enforcement matters before the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, reflecting her growing expertise in emerging technology regulation and digital governance.

Ms. Kungu has also worked extensively in banking resolution and debt recovery, reviewing credit and legacy files of banks under liquidation to support debt recovery, negotiations, and the orderly winding up of financial institutions for the benefit of depositors.

In addition, she has cultivated strong partnerships with key public institutions and stakeholders, including the Kenya Judiciary Academy, the Central Bank of Kenya, financial institutions, and other financial sector regulators.

She has contributed to significant legislative reforms in the financial sector. She has organized and facilitated specialized judicial training programmes for Judges of the High

Court, the Court of Appeal, and other judicial officers on deposit insurance, bank resolution, insolvency law, and financial sector regulation.

Ms. Kungu combines exceptional legal expertise with strategic policy insight and a collaborative approach to solving complex legal and regulatory challenges. She is committed to advancing sound governance, strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks, and delivering practical, impactful solutions for both public and private sector clients.

She previously served as a Senior Officer, Legal at the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), where she played a pivotal role in safeguarding the Corporation and institutions under liquidation through strategic litigation and legal advisory services.

She also worked at Munyao Muthama and Kashindi Advocates, where she led commercial matters, tax disputes, legislative drafting, regulatory impact assessments, data protection consultancies, legal compliance reviews, governance audits, and other key assignments.

  1. LLM (Regional Integration) | University of Dar es Salaam (DAAD Scholar) | 2021.
  2. Postgraduate Diploma in Tax Administration | JKUAT | 2022.
  3. Postgraduate Diploma in Law | Kenya School of Law | 2018.
  4. Bachelor of Laws | Moi University | 2016.
  5. Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators | Nairobi & London | 2026.
  6. Certified Legal Auditor | 2025.
  7. Certified Secretary | 2024.
  8. Artificial Intelligence Policy | Center for AI & Digital Policy | 2023.
  • Presidential Election 2022: served as Research Counsel during the 2022 Presidential Election Petition, supporting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in defending the Interlocutory Applications before the Supreme Court of Kenya.
  • Pre-Election & Election Disputes: Part of the team that handled pre-election and election disputes arising from the 2022 General Elections, from the lower courts to the Superior Courts, and successfully defended various elective positions.
  • Public Procurement: successfully acted for a Leading State Corporation in defending a dispute challenging a tendering process worth Kes. 4.2 billion.
  • Commercial: I acted for the liquidator of Imperial Bank Limited, matter in which a depositor sought to stop KDIC from paying out protected deposits before the conclusion of liquidation, arguing that payment was premature and contrary to section 28(2) of the Kenya Deposit Insurance Act. I successfully defended the suit in which the Court affirmed that KDIC could proceed to execute its statutory mandate under the Act. The decision paved way for payment of protected deposits to Imperial Bank depositors.
  • Land Disputes: Part of the team handling a complex land dispute involving claims of adverse possession, community rights and historical occupation of land within a conservancy. The matter involved claims brought on behalf of over 400 residents and required consideration of the interaction between community interests and registered proprietary rights. The team successfully defended the claim where the Court considered, among other issues, the requirements for establishing adverse possession and the application of res judicata, limitation of actions and the doctrine of functus officio, ultimately striking out the Petition.
  • Tax: Part of the team that acted in a tax dispute involving a demand of Kes. 1.4 billion in unpaid PAYE tax arising from foreign hires by an international school that enjoyed immunity in Kenya.
  • Legislative Drafting: Participated in legislative reforms and contributed to the review and development of key legislative and regulatory frameworks, including the Kenya Deposit Insurance Bill (2021), the Kenya Deposit Insurance (Contribution by Institutions) Regulations, Kenya Deposit Insurance Trust Account Guidelines, and the e-money protection framework. She has also conducted regulatory impact assessments on statutory instruments developed by various regulation-making authorities in Kenya.
  • National Payments Framework: Part of the Technical Working Group that reviewed the National Payment Systems framework in Kenya and developed the National Payment Systems Bill 2026. This exercise involved regulators within the financial sector and collaboration with other Central Banks across different jurisdictions and experts including World Bank.
  • Legal and Governance Audits: Conducted legal and governance audits for a number of State Corporations, private entities, and public entities, in accordance with the law and applicable best practices in governance.
  • Data Protection: Undertook a comprehensive data protection audit for a leading healthcare institution in Kenya, including an overhaul of its documentation systems and redrafting of key documents and policies to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act. Also represented clients in lodging and successfully pursuing complaints and proceedings before the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the High Court arising from the unlawful processing and violation of personal and sensitive personal data.
  • Company Secretarial: I have supported the Board of a state corporation across the full Board cycle, including preparing for meetings, board meetings, compiling Board packs, drafting Board reports, drafting Board governing documentation and procedures, organizing Board retreats and taking Board minutes, while providing legal and advisory support to the Board. I also supported the Board evaluation conducted by the State Corporations Advisory Committee.

Practice Areas

Professional Membership