10 most famous Achimota students of all-time

School pride runs deep in most secondary schools, but perhaps no high school can boast of more prominent personalities than Achimota School.

As one of the oldest secondary schools in Ghana, Achimota School has seen countless students pass through its halls.

From presidents to business leaders to top-tier entertainers, the school’s graduates have racked up some incredible accomplishments.

Achimota School seems to pump out an extraordinary number of accomplished individuals. So, we decided to put together a list of some of the most famous “Motown” students of all-time.

In no particular order:


Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017.



He served as the leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. The former Zimbabwean was a student of Achimota School.

Patrick Awuah

Patrick Awuah Jr. is a Ghanaian engineer, educator, and entrepreneur. Awuah established Ashesi University in 2002. Awuah has won many awards as an individual and as the founder of Ashesi University.



Awuah grew up in Accra, Ghana. He attended the Achimota School where he was a house prefect.


Reggie Rockstone

Reggie Rockstone (Reginald Yaw Asante Ossei, "the Godfather of Hiplife") is a Ghanaian rapper. He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Ghana in Kumasi and Accra. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip-Life movement in 1994.

He pioneered the Hiplife art form and has played an important role in the development of this uniquely African genre in Ghana's capital Accra.



Reggie Rockstone attended Achimota School. Reggie joined the Ghanaian hip hop group VVIP following the exit of Promzy in 2014.


Dr. Joyce Aryee

Joyce Rosalind Aryee is a Ghanaian former politician, business executive and minister. Aryee is recognized for having served Ghana for more than 40 years in both the public and private sectors.

From 2001 to 2011, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and was the first woman in Africa to have held that role.



She later went to Achimota School and graduated in 1969 from the University of Ghana, Legon with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in English.


JJ Rawlings

Jerry John Rawlings was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country from 1981 to 2001 and also for a brief period in 1979.

He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected President of Ghana.



Rawlings attended Achimota School and a military academy at Teshie.


Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian politician and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957.



An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962. He attended Achimota School formerly Prince of Wales College.


John Evans Atta Mills

John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012.

He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 election.



He was previously the Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He was the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office


Dag Heward-Mills

Dag Heward-Mills is an African Evangelist, pastor, author, and conference speaker based in Accra, Ghana.

He is the founder and presiding Bishop of the United Denomination Originating from the Lighthouse Group Of Churches (UD-OLGC) formerly known as the Lighthouse Chapel International.



He was converted to Christianity while having his secondary education at Achimota School.


Theodosia Salome Okoh

Theodosia Salome Okoh was a Ghanaian stateswoman, teacher, and artist known for designing Ghana's national flag in 1957. She also played a leading role in the development of hockey in Ghana.



She started school at Ashanti Efiduasi Primary School, continued to the Basel Mission Middle, Senior and Teacher Training Schools in Agogo, and then Achimota School, where she received three years of training in Fine Art.


Esther Afua Ocloo

Esther Afua Ocloo was a Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending, a program of making small loans in order to stimulate businesses.



She was one of the founders of Women's World Banking in 1976, with Michaela Walsh and Ela Bhatt. Ocloo served as its first chair of trustees.

She is a product of the Achimota School.