BACKGROUND
Melanie is an Associate at Oraro & Company Advocates in the Dispute Resolution Department, where she specialises in tax advisory, and tax and commercial dispute resolution.
Melanie has been involved in several high-value and complex matters, including advising on the structuring and tax implications of cross-border transactions involving virtual asset service providers, and supporting a multinational construction company on tax considerations for a major energy infrastructure project in Kenya. She has also been part of the legal team defending a client in an appeal against the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) which raised significant questions regarding the proper forum for the determination of exemption certificate disputes.
Melanie holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Nairobi and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. She is also a Certified Data Privacy Specialist and is currently pursuing her certification with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
EXPERIENCE
- Part of the team that successfully challenged the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes’ interpretation and application of deemed interest under the Income Tax Act. The High Court dismissed the KRA’s KES 18.2 million claim against our client, a leading owner and operator of one of the largest shopping malls in East and Central Africa.
- Part of the team providing legal advisory services to an international energy and commodities company on the ownership and securitisation of carbon credits generated in Kenya.
- Part of the team advising a leading Fintech company on its transactions with merchants and with both local and international virtual asset service providers dealing in cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
- Involved in representing Africa’s largest provider of enterprise-grade, fully serviced office solutions in a tax dispute resolved through the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Alternative Dispute Resolution framework.
- Part of the team representing a charitable trust that provides financial aid to needy students in a High Court appeal challenging the KRA’s refusal to renew its income tax exemption certificate.
- Involved in representing one of Kenya’s leading insurance companies in a significant-exposure customs bonds dispute involving critical tax matters.