Kenneth Andrew Charles Benjamin (born 19 March 1955) is a Caribbean jurist. A

dual national Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

and

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

, he served as

Chief Justice of Belize The Chief Justice of Belize is the head of the Supreme Court of Belize. Under Chapter 7 of the Constitution of Belize, the Chief Justice is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Since the retirement of Kenneth Be ...

from 15 September 2011 to 20 March 2020.

Career

Benjamin was born on 19 March 1955 in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

. In 1980 and 1981, Benjamin served as a magistrate in

. He went on to serve as Assistant Judge Advocate for the

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. History The GDF was formed on 1 Nove ...

. From 1988, he continued his work as a judge in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, including from 1991 to 1993 as Chief Magistrate of

. Following that, he was named as a judge of the High Court of the

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court, superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, t ...

. In this capacity he served in

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

and the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

in the succeeding years. From 2002 to 2007, Benjamin's position as ECSC High Court Judge took him to

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

; he was succeeded there by Francis Cumberbatch. In 2007, he relocated to

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

to become the presiding judge of the High Court of St. Lucia's criminal division. In July 2011, following the retirement of

Abdulai Conteh Abdulai Osman Conteh (born 5 August 1945) is a lawyer and politician from Sierra Leone. He is a former vice president of Sierra Leone, who served under President Joseph Saidu Momoh before he was ousted by the military junta in 1992. Conteh later ...

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

B. Q. Pitts announced that Benjamin would be

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

's new Chief Justice. In the interim,

Samuel Lungole Awich Samuel Lungole Awich is a Commonwealth jurist, whose career has taken him from his native Uganda to Botswana, the Solomon Islands, and for the past decade Belize. Career Early career Awich began his legal career as a state counsel in Botswana in 1 ...

served as acting CJ. Pitts indicated his hopes that Benjamin, at the time 56, would be able to hold his position until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65.

Personal life

Benjamin graduated from the

Hugh Wooding Law School The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago. History Named for Trinidad and Tobago jurist and politician Hugh Wooding, HWLS is one of three law schools empowered by the (Caribbean) Council of Legal Education to award ...

of the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

in 1977. He is married and has a daughter and a son.

References

1955 births Living people Antigua and Barbuda judges Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court justices Chief justices of Belize 20th-century Guyanese judges University of the West Indies alumni Antigua and Barbuda judges on the courts of Grenada Antigua and Barbuda judges on the courts of Saint Lucia Antigua and Barbuda people of Guyanese descent Guyanese people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Guyanese judges on the courts of Grenada Guyanese judges on the courts of Saint Lucia Antigua and Barbuda judges on the courts of Belize Guyanese judges on the courts of Belize Antigua and Barbuda judges on the courts of Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda judges on the courts of Montserrat Guyanese judges on the courts of Anguilla Guyanese judges on the courts of Montserrat Guyanese judges of international courts and tribunals Antigua and Barbuda judges of international courts and tribunals 21st-century Guyanese judges {{Belize-bio-stub