Meet The First Female Judge In Ghana - Annie Jiagge

Justice Annie Jiagge was born on 7th October, 1918 Lomé, Togo. Her parents were educationalist Henrietta Baëta and Presbyterian minister Robert Domingo Baëta.

Annie Jiagge

Annie attended Achimota College where she graduated with teacher’s certificate in 1937. She was Headmistress at the Evangelical Presbyterian Girls School from 1940 to 1946.

She gained admission into to the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1946. Her male colleagues from the Gold Coast urged her to reject her studies, thinking it is

too difficult for a woman to study such Course. One of her friends arrange a position for her at the Paris Academy to study dress design but she rejected it. She told them she would return to the Gold Coast if she didn’t pass her first examination. She passed, and was no longer bothered by the men. She received her LLB in 1949 and was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn the following year respectfully

She rose through the ranks of the judicial hierarchy to become a judge of the Court of Appeal in 1969, the highest court in Ghana at the time. She was asked to chair the Commission to investigate the Assets of Senior Public Servants and Named Political Leaders in 1966 following the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah by the National Liberation Council (NLC)

Annie was the first female judge of the Court of Appeal. She later became president of the Court of Appeal in 1980 until her retirement in 1983.

She also served on the Committee of Experts who drafted the 4th Republican Constitution of Ghana

Annie served on Ghana’s Council of State until She died on 12th June,1996 in Accra