Salako Benka-Coker

Sir Salako Ambrosius Benka-Coker was a Sierra Leonean judge of the Supreme Court and the first African to hold the position of Chief Justice of the newly independent state. He was awarded a Knighthood of the British Empire in 1961.

Early life and education

Born in 1900 to Sierra Leone Creole parents, Benka-Coker attended the Sierra Leone Grammar School in Freetown and later Fourah Bay College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1916. He later attended Durham University, followed by the Middle Temple before being called to the Bar in 1926.

Career and legal luminary

Benka-Coker established a private legal practice in Bathurst, Gambia before accepting an appointment in 1943 as Crown Counsel in Sierra Leone. Between 1953 and 1957, he was attorney-general before his appointment as Chief Justice in 1960.