Monica Amekoafia

Monica Amekoafia (30 June 1934 – 24 June 1990) was a Ghanaian and the winner of the first edition of the Miss Ghana contest in 1957 while representing the Trans-Volta Togoland. She was contestant Number 9. It was from her number that people from the Volta Region are called Number 9.

She was born to Augustus Amekoafia and Anastasia Apau in June 1934 at Alavanyo in the Trans-Volta Togoland in the Gold Coast. She later married a Ghanaian diplomat, Henry Kofi Marrah in London, United Kingdom. At the time of the marriage, Monica had two sons from a previous relationship. Henry already had three children, a son and two daughters from his previous marriage. Between them they had four children, Henrietta, born in London in October 1958, Kofi, also born in London in June 1960, and Vivien, born in Prague in the then Czechoslovakia in August 1963. The fourth and last born, Edward, was born in Accra in March 1969. Following his appointment by the first President of Ghana 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 that replaced the Nkrumah government with the military National Liberation Council 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. In her final years of her life she ran a drinking bar at a place called Kokomlemle near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Monica's fame was evident when she appeared at public places such at the popular Makola Market in Accra where market women flocked to see and hailed her when she went shopping. When the family took time off to relax at the popular Labadi Beach in the late 1960s, it was not unusual for the Master of Ceremonies at the dance bandstand to announce her presence to the crowd. Her husband, Henry who had gone into private business after his diplomatic career, died in September 1985. Monica, however, only outlived him by five years, dying from a fatal asthmatic attack on 24 June 1990. Monica Marrah, the former Monica Amekoafia, remains a relevant figure to this day evidenced by frequent references to her in the news media and her immortalisation on newsreels and documentaries from the independence period. During the celebration of Ghana's 50th independence anniversary, she was a number of activities were organised in her name to which her children were invited. A statue was also unveiled in her honour at Hohoe in the Volta Region of Ghana. Contributions from her son, Kofi Marrah.