Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu was born on Monday 19th September 1960 in Kumasi to Emmanuel Okutu Ayiku (a Chief Telecommunications Inspector and Regional Engineer with the Posts & Telecommunications Department), who hailed from Big Ada, and Elizabeth Serebour (a trader) from Adansi Fomena. She was named Rita Amaku Ayiku, being the fourth female child of her parents.
Rita had her basic education at Bantama Methodist Primary School up to class 6, after which she attended State Girls Experimental Middle School in Kumasi. She sat for the common entrance examination and successfully enrolled in Yaa Asantewaa Girls Secondary School. After completion of form 2 at Yaa Asantewaa, Rita transferred to Mfantsiman Girls Secondary School in Saltpond, where she completed in 1978. Even though she was baptized as a Methodist at Bantama in 1961, it was at Mfantsiman Girls where she was formally and officially received into the membership of the Methodist Church of Ghana on 22nd May 1977.
Upon completing her secondary school education, Rita worked as a Clerk at the Social Security Bank (SSB), Suame, Kumasi between 1982 and 1983. In 1984, she met and married Mr. Kwame Agyeman-Budu (the love of her life) and they had their first child, Kwaku Agyeman-Budu (Pappy) on 26th September 1984 (exactly one week after her 24th birthday). She thus put her education on hold to raise her family from that point onwards, and on 1st January 1987, she gave birth to her second child, Nana Sarpong Agyeman-Budu.
Rita decided to continue her education in the late 1980s and enrolled at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) where she graduated with a Diploma in Journalism on 30th June 1991, and was awarded the Agostinho Neto Prize for being the Best Student in English. Her dissertation was titled: “Image of Women in the Media: Case Study of Advertising and Visual Communication”. She described her work in the following words:
“This work is a study of contemporary advertising in the National Media with particular reference to women’s pages. One of its purposes is to understand the nature of the advertisement as cultural artefact, and to examine how advertising contains cultural meanings above and beyond the sales message. Another equally important purpose is to contribute to the development of methods of analysis in the general areas of cultural studies. The task is made more complex by the concentration in this study on visual rather than verbal communication, a mode of communication long recognized by advertisers yet one largely neglected by those who take it upon themselves the critical study of the mass media.”
Rita’s early career thus began with a brief stint as a journalist after graduating from GIJ. Although she didn’t practice journalism for long, this experience instilled in her a passion for justice and fairness. It was her quest for justice and desire to make a meaningful impact that led her to pursue further education eventually.
It must be noted that in the early 1990’s, despite practicing briefly as a journalist and with a view to eventually furthering her education, Rita together with her husband, realizing the need for diversified income, established RAKAB Ventures in Teshie Nungua – a supermarket chain, which at its peak had three (3) branches in the Teshie Nungua area and was well known as the go-to shop for all and sundry, especially the working class. RAKAB Ventures became a certified UNILEVER distributor and through her industry she was able to manage the business alongside raising her young family.
Around the same time in the early parts of the 1990’s, Rita decided to pursue university education and sat for the Final University Examination (FUE) and was successful. She thus enrolled and matriculated as a full-time student at the University of Ghana, where she studied English, Sociology and Russian. At the University, she was assigned to Sarbah Hall and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) in English and Sociology in 1997.
From 1997 to 1998, Rita worked as a national service personnel at the National Youth Council in Accra. Her pursuit of education was never ending, and having been motivated by her husband, who had combined a full-time job with studying to become a lawyer, she enrolled at the Ghana School of Law in 1998 to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer.
As fate will have it, in 2002, specifically 10th December 2002, she gave birth to her third child, Yaw Twumasi Agyeman-Budu (Agya Yaw). That notwithstanding, she combined her responsibilities at work, her studies and raising a family and to the glory of God was called to the Ghana Bar in October 2004.
In 1999, Rita was employed in the Judicial Service of Ghana and assigned to the Personnel Department in Accra. She combined her duties at the Judicial Service and the pursuit of legal education from that time onwards with determination and poise. By 2004, she had been transferred to the Petitions and Complaints Unit of the Judicial Service, where she worked for about a year before being transferred in October 2005 to become a Court Manager at the then newly established Commercial Court in Accra until December 2007. From December 2007 to January 2008, Rita was posted on Attachment at the La District Court in Labadi to understudy as a District Magistrate.
In January 2008, she was appointed as a District Magistrate and was assigned to the Ministries District Court until February 2008, when she was transferred to the Tema White House District Court – a place she will call home for a long time. This is because, in July 2011, she was promoted to the Circuit Court as a Circuit Court judge but sat as an additional Magistrate at the Tema White House District Court until October 2011 when she was transferred to the Gender Based Violence Court in Kumasi until 2014; becoming one of the pioneer judges of the Gender Based Violence Court, piloted in Accra in 2009 under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
She therefore adjudicated several gender-based violence cases in Kumasi and earned a reputation for being fair, firm, and a Judge who dispensed justice without fear or favour. Coincidentally, it was during her time in Kumasi that she became the Assistant Secretary for the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), Ghana Chapter in 2013. She also became an ambassador of the Global Leadership of Women (GLOW) in Washington DC, United States of America, in May 2013.
In 2014, she was transferred from Kumasi back to Accra, where she was the Circuit Court Judge at the Gender Based Violence Court in Accra, having built expertise in the area of gender-based violence cases. Once again, her reputation for dispensing justice without fear or favour grew exponentially, as she dealt with several landmark cases. Whilst serving at this Court, Rita was nominated by the then Chief Justice of Ghana, Her Ladyship Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, to receive a full tuition scholarship to pursue a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) programme in Transnational Legal Practice at St. John’s University in New York, USA. She duly completed the programme and was also awarded the LL.M in June 2016. At St. John’s, she was awarded with the Dean’s List Certificate for outstanding achievement during the Spring 2016 semester.
During her time abroad, Rita sat for the High Court promotion examination and passed. She was subsequently interviewed by the Judicial Council and passed with flying colours and was duly appointed as a Justice of the High Court of Ghana in July 2016 and assigned to the Tema High Court C (Land Court at Meridian, Tema). Her reputation as a calm but fair judge preceded her and as a Justice of the High Court of Ghana, she dispensed justice without fear or favour, ill will or malice, to the admiration of all court users. She served on a number of committees within the Judicial Service of Ghana, most notably on the Disciplinary Committee for staff. She also attended numerous training courses as well as national and international conferences during her time as a judge within the Judicial Service of Ghana.
Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu was transferred in October 2023 from the Tema High Court C to the Gbetsile High Court (a newly established Court); which decision was subsequently modified such that she was assigned to Gbetsile High Court from Mondays to Wednesdays to ensure confidence in the citizenry that the Court was functional. On Thursdays and Fridays, she sat at the Tema High Court A (Annex), where she heard only motions. On Fridays, she will also attend Tema High Court C (her original court), where she was to complete her part-heard cases with a view to delivering outstanding rulings and judgements. She thus alternated between these three (3) courts from October 2023 and served with diligence, dignity and grace until her passing on to glory in July 2025.
While serving as a Circuit Court Judge in Kumasi in 2014, Rita put her training as a journalist and her background in English as well as her legal knowledge and experience on the bench to good use as she wrote a play/drama for the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), Ghana Chapter titled: ‘A Call for Justice’. This was in pursuance of the goal of the IAWJ Ghana Chapter to increase understanding of a broad range of social, economic, psychological and cultural factors that inhibit women from accessing the Courts freely to seek redress against gender-based violence and discrimination in Ghana and other jurisdictions.
Rita’s script was developed into a short film bearing the same title, and featuring well known and popular actors in Ghana including but not limited to, Akofa Edjeani, Amankwa Ampofo and Prince ‘Waakye’ Yawson, and was first aired nationally on Ghana Television (GTV) on 18th October 2014. The film was subsequently aired for a second time by GTV free of charge on 23rd October 2014. The aim of the film was to bring awareness on available help to victims of sexual violence; and Rita is duly acknowledged in the opening credits as the writer of the story.
Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu dedicated a significant part of her judicial career to the IAWJ, rising from Assistant Secretary to President. It was during her time in Kumasi that she became the Assistant Secretary for the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), Ghana Chapter in 2013.
In September 2016, Rita was elected as the Secretary of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), Ghana Chapter; a position she held until September 2018, when she was elected as the Vice President of IAWJ, Ghana Chapter, serving for 4 years. In this role, she assisted the President and other Executives to execute the mandate of the IAWJ Ghana Chapter in line with the objectives and expectations of the mother association in ensuring justice worldwide.
In September 2022, Rita’s years of service to the IAWJ was duly rewarded when she was elected as the President of IAWJ, Ghana Chapter, a position she held until her call to glory in July 2025. Her tenure as President will be remembered for her firm and compassionate leadership, culminating in the successful hosting of the IAWJ Africa Regional Conference in Accra in May 2024 under the theme: “Combatting Negative Cultural Practices in Africa: The Role of Women Judges”.
As President of the IAWJ Ghana Chapter, Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu championed pro-women and girl-child initiatives, executing several projects during her tenure. Her leadership and dedication earned her respect from colleague women judges globally. Her last major engagement with the IAWJ was when she attended the IAWJ Africa Regional Conference in April 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa in her capacity as the President of the Ghana Chapter, but also representing the Chief Justice of Ghana at the conference.
Rita was a Methodist, having been baptized as such at Bantama in 1961. However, it was on 22nd May 1977 that she was received into the membership of the Methodist Church of Ghana, whilst she was a student at Mfantsiman Girls Secondary School, Saltpond. She attended Bantama Methodist with her mother and siblings, and after her marriage to Kwame Agyeman-Budu (a Presbyterian), they both became members of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) in August 1988. Initially attending ICGC at the Baiden Powell Hall in Accra, she later (together with her husband) became founding members of the ICGC Sakumono branch, first located at ‘Fridays’ in Sakumono, and subsequently relocating to its current location i.e. Calvary Temple on the Spintex Road, Accra, near Community 18 Junction.
Rita returned to her roots subsequently and officially became a member of the United Church at Teshie Nungua Estate (an inter-denominational church i.e. Methodist, Presbyterian and Anglican). Even whilst pursuing her Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) in the United States of America, she attended Grace United Methodist Church in Valley Stream, New York and officially became a member on 24th April 2016.
Rita was an Elder on the Church Council of the United Church, Teshie Nungua Estate, where she also served as the Chairperson of the Church’s Constitution Review Committee and was also a Patron of the Church Choir. She was a key member/pillar of the Monday Born Group of the United Church and also served as the Chair/Co-Chair of the Monday Born Group’s activities during the Annual Harvest. She was also a founding member of the Friday Prayer Group together with her husband.
Rita was also a life member of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI), and an active member of the Teshie Nungua Chapter, being awarded a Certificate of Honour on 16th September 2017 for her outstanding and dedicated service to the Chapter. She frequently attended national and international events consistently, most notably the 2009 International Convention held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America.
During her Law School days, she was also a staunch member of the Ghana School of Law Christian Fellowship (GSLCF) and was duly recognized on 11th May 2004 for her good and meritorious efforts and active involvement in the promotion of Christian spirit of love and fraternity during the course of her studies.
Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu (Mrs.) will be remembered for her gentle nature, warmth, and compassion. She was soft-spoken and lifted up all those she came into contact with. Despite her soft-spoken nature, Justice Rita was known for her ability to convey her points with grace and respect, endearing her to family, friends, colleagues, and subordinates alike. Her gentle demeanor belied a strong commitment to justice and fairness. Throughout her career, Justice Rita demonstrated a remarkable commitment to justice, equality, and the empowerment of women and girls. Her legacy continues to inspire and motivate those who knew her and her work.
Rita will be sorely missed in our earthly realm, but we are of the firm belief that God Almighty has a higher purpose for which in His infinite wisdom He has called her to eternity.
Rest well Rita, until we meet again on the day of resurrection.
