Select a location

Africa

This selection will switch the site from presenting information primarily about Kenya to information primarily about . If you would like to switch back, you may use location selection options at the top of the page.

People

Nelius Wanjohi

Nelius Wanjohi

Associate, IKM Advocates
[email protected] | vCard
Nairobi
  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Credentials

Nelius Wanjohi is a dynamic Projects, Energy, and Infrastructure lawyer and strategic advisor with a strong focus on infrastructure, energy, and corporate transactions, combining legal expertise with practical industry experience.

She advises on local, regional, and international transactions across the full lifecycle of infrastructure and energy projects, including renewable energy, public-private partnerships (PPPs), construction contracts, public procurement, and government contracting.

In addition, Nelius has a background in capital markets, M&A, and corporate transactions, having advised on complex corporate restructurings, private equity investments, equity and debt offerings, and multi-jurisdictional mergers and acquisitions. She has expertise in project structuring, legal due diligence, drafting and negotiating transaction documentation, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder engagement.

Nelius holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was awarded the Clara Belfield and Henry Bates Fellowship, the Darrow Scholarship, the Aga Khan International Scholarship, and recognized as a 1L LCLD Scholar. She is also a First Class Honours graduate in Quantity Surveying from the Technical University of Kenya and has been admitted to the New York State Bar.

Experience has included advising:

  • The founders and a shareholder of a Mauritius-based logistics company on the auction sale of a combined 49% stake to a major private equity fund, including drafting and negotiating SPA and shareholders’ agreements and conducting multi-jurisdictional regulatory approvals.
  • A major private equity firm on a USD 57 million investment acquiring 25.7% of a poultry business in Sub-Saharan and North Africa, including drafting and negotiating subscription and shareholders’ agreements and conducting regulatory and due diligence reviews.
  • A drilling contractor controlled by the Kenyan government on a series of construction contracts with a major oil company.
  • A US company on FIDIC design-and-build contracts for a construction project, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contract terms and related risk allocations.
  • A Kenyan public company on the sale of its entire share capital and related multi-jurisdictional corporate and regulatory due diligence.
  • A NYSE-listed energy company, representing the initial purchasers in a US$1.5 billion 4.125% convertible senior note offering due 2026.
  • A major Australian financial institution listed on the NYSE on the offering of US$1.25 billion 5.350% notes due 2024 and US$1.25 billion 5.457% notes due 2027, and on a US$40 billion Global Covered Bond Program and the US$35 billion Senior Medium-Term Notes and Subordinated Medium-Term Notes Rule 144A/Reg S programs.
  • The initial purchasers in connection with a US$3 billion Senior Notes offering under Rule 144A/Reg S across four series, including Floating Rate and fixed-rate notes due 2025–2028.
  • The underwriters on Rule 144A/Reg S offerings of JPY 4 billion 2.0% Senior Notes due 2025 for a diversified financial and real estate services company
  • A Kenyan company whose major asset was land, on the sale of the company, including drafting and negotiating share sale agreements and regulatory approvals.
  • A Japanese company on the establishment of a joint venture for the purposes of a logistics business, including drafting and negotiating shareholders’ and subscription agreements, conducting due diligence, facilitating land acquisition, and structuring and reviewing the construction contracts for the warehouses undertaken by the JV

Professional Qualifications

  • New York State Bar (2023)

Education

  • Columbia University, Global Women on Board Programme (2025)
  • University of Michigan Law School, Juris Doctor (2019-2022)
  • The Technical University of Kenya, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (2013-2016)

Prior Experience 

  • December 2025 to date, Associate DLA Piper Africa, Kenya (IKM Advocates)
  • November 2023 to November 2025, Associate Associate at a Nairobi based law firm
  • July 2023 to November 2023, Legal Fellow in Investor Relations Department at One Acre Fund, New York
  • August 2022 to July 2023, Associate at Sidley Austin LLP, New York
  • May 2021 to August 2021, Summer Associate at Sidley Austin LLP, New York
  • May 2020 to August 2020, Summer Associate at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Chicago

Memberships 

  • Member of the New York Bar Association
  • Member of the American Bar Association
  • Member of the Women on Boards Network