1922-2015

Theodosia Salome Okoh nee Theodosia Salome Abena Kumia Asihene is best known for designing the national flag of Ghana.  She was a stateswoman, teacher, artist and designer.  Born June 13th, 1922, in Wenchi to Anum Guan parents, Reverend Emmanuel Victor Asihene and Dora Poobea Akyea. Her father was one of the first graduates of the art-based curriculum introduced by the British government in the latter part of the 1800s.  It was called the ‘Hand and Eye’.  He became one of the earliest trained art teachers in the Gold Coast.  Okoh started school at the Ashanti Efiduasi Primary School, continuing to Basel Mission Middle, Senior and Teacher training schools in Agogo.  She then attended Achimota College studying fine art for three years.

After studying art and design in the United Kingdom, she returned to Ghana in the 1950s and became part of political and cultural organisations such as the Ghana Red Cross and the National Council of Women and Development.

When Ghana became independent from the British colonial rule, there was the need to have a new flag.  Okoh was a member of the committee and given the responsibility of designing a flag.  Her design was ultimately chosen.  It featured three horizontal red, gold and green stripes, with a black star in the middle.

Okoh taught art in several schools in Ghana and was one of the founding members of the Ghana Society of Artists.  In addition to her design work, Okoh was also a noted artist and teacher. She was awarded the Order of the Volta, a high honour in 2007 and a hockey sports stadium was named after her.

This was because Okoh played a big role in the development of the sport in Ghana. She was the first female chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association and then President of the Ghana Hockey Association for a period that spanned over 20 years.  During her presidency, Ghana qualified for both Olympic games and the Hockey World Cup.

Ohene Djan, a Minister of Sports named Okoh “the Joan of Arc of Ghana hockey.” She    rose to the occasion to save Ghana hockey when everyone else was vacillating about the development of the sport.  She was a longtime patron of the Sports Writers Association.

Okoh passed away on the 19th of April 2015, at the age of 92.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosia_Okoh