Monica Amekoafia (30 June 1934 – 24 June 1990) was a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

and the winner of the first edition of the Miss Ghana contest in 1957 while representing the

Trans-Volta Togoland British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered a union with Ghana, pa ...

. She was contestant ''Number 9''. It was from her number that people from the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

are called ''Number 9''. She was born to Augustus Amekoafia and Anastasia Apau in June 1934 at Alavanyo in the

in the Gold Coast. She later married a Ghanaian

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, Henry Kofi Marrah in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. At the time of the marriage, Monica had two sons from a previous relationship. Between them they had four children. Following the appointment of her husband as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia in 1961, the Marrah family moved to Prague that year. In 1963 Monica's husband was posted to Hungary where she and her family lived until 1966. Following the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

that replaced the

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister of Ghana, Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first gover ...

with the military

National Liberation Council The National Liberation Council (NLC) led the Ghanaian government from 24 February 1966 to 1 October 1969. The body emerged from a ''coup d'état'' against the Nkrumah government carried out jointly by the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Arme ...

on 24 February 1966, she returned to Ghana with her family. Monica settled down to life in Ghana where though basically a housewife, she engaged in different trades working from home. Her primary trade being dressmaking, she also engaged in the tie and dye business and soap making among others. Her husband, Henry who had gone into private business after his diplomatic career, died in September 1985. Monica died from an asthma attack on 24 June 1990. A statue was also unveiled in her honour at

Hohoe Hohoe is a town and the district capital of Hohoe Municipality located in the Volta Region of Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the

of Ghana.

References

Ghanaian beauty pageant winners 1934 births 1990 deaths Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom Ghanaian expatriates in Hungary Expatriates in Czechoslovakia People from Volta Region Deaths from asthma {{Model-stub