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Vida Akoto-Bamfo is a retired
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
ian
Supreme Court Judge A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. She served on the Supreme Court bench from 2009 to 2019.


Early life and education

Akoto-Bamfo was born on 7 February 1949 to Mr. Alfred Kingsley Bannerman-Williams and Madam Grace Darkua Dodoo at
Pokuase Pokuase,http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/Ghana%20Awoshie-Pokuase%20Road%20RAP%20Summary%20for%20board%2021%2001%2009.pdf also spelled Pokoasi, is a suburb of Accra, the capital city o ...
, in the
Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the second most populated region, befor ...
of
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. She had her early education at Accra Royal School in James Town (British Accra). In 1963, she gained admission to
Mfantsiman Girls' Secondary School Mfantsiman Girls' Senior High School is an all girls second cycle institution in Saltpond in the Central Region of Ghana. The school was founded in 1960 by Kwame Nkrumah, originally under the name Saltpond Girls' Secondary School. The school is ...
where she obtained her 'O' Level certificate. She later continued at
Aburi Girls' Senior High School Aburi Girls' Senior High School, formerly Aburi Girls' Secondary School, also known as ABUGISS, is a Presbyterian senior high boarding school for girls located south of Aburi in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The brother school of Aburi Girls i ...
from 1967 to 1969. She studied law at the
University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...
Law School between 1972 and 1975. She then proceeded to the
Ghana School of Law The Ghana School of Law (GSL) is an educational institution in Ghana for training lawyers. The school is the only one that provides training for law graduates in the Barrister at Law program. The Professional Law Course is designed for Law Gradu ...
in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
.


Career

Prior to joining the bench in 1981, Akoto-Bamfo worked at the Attorney-General's Office as a National Service personnel. She later joined British Indian Insurance Company in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
, and the now defunct Zenith Assurance as Manager in charge of claims from 1976 to 1981. There, she was responsible for settling insurance claims. She became a
District Magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...
in 1981. As a magistrate, she was first stationed at the New Town Magistrate Court for her first two years. She was later transferred to Cocoa Affairs where she worked as one of the first Magistrates there. She was later appointed a Circuit Court judge stationed at Tema for a brief while before returning to Cocoa Affairs in 1986. She remained at Cocoa Affairs from then until 1991 when she was promoted to the High Court bench. After serving as a justice of the High Court for three years, she was transferred to
the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
on secondment for two years as Chairperson of the Assets Commission. She was appointed an Appeal Court Judge in 1999 and she continued in this position until her nomination and appointment as justice of the
Supreme Court of Ghana The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.1992 Constitution Article 125( ...
by
John Evans Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...
,
President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2020 presidential elec ...
in 2009. She retired in February 2019. She was appointed together with
Nasiru Sulemana Gbadegbe Nasiru Sulemana Gbadegbe is a Ghanaian lawyer and judge. He was a justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana between 2009 and 2020. Early life and education Gbadegbe hails from the Volta Region of Ghana. He was born on 8 December 1950. He obtained ...
and
Benjamin Teiko Aryeetey Benjamin Teiko Aryeetey was a Ghanaian academic and judge. He is a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. He spent a total of forty (40) years serving on the bench of the Judiciary of Ghana. He was also a lecturer at the Ghana School of L ...
(now retired). She joined Justices Stephen Alan Brobbey,
Georgina Theodora Wood Georgina Theodora Wood (née Lutterodt; born 8 June 1947) is a Ghanaian judge and also a former police prosecution officer. She was the Chief Justice of Ghana and the first woman to occupy that position. She retired in 2017 after five decades ...
(then Chief Justice) and Samuel K. Date-Bah, who are all retired.


Personal life

Vida Akoto-Bamfo was married to the late Eugene Akoto-Bamfo Snr., a Legal Officer. She identified as a Methodist but fellowships at the Police Church. 


See also

*
List of judges of the Supreme Court of Ghana This is a list of the judges of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The Constitution of Ghana provides for the court to be made up of the Chief Justice of Ghana and not less than nine other Justices of the Supreme Court. It shall be duly constituted by a ...
*
Judiciary of Ghana The Judiciary of Ghana comprises the Superior Courts of Judicature, established under the 1992 Constitution, and the Inferior Courts, established by Parliament. The hierarchy of courts derives largely from British juridical forms. The courts hav ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akoto-Bamfo, Vida Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana University of Ghana alumni Alumni of Aburi Girls' Senior High School Mfantsiman Girls' Secondary School alumni Ghanaian women judges 1949 births