BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-SIERRA LEONEAN " SIR ERNEST SAMUEL BEOKU-BETTS " WAS A PROMINENT SIERRA LEONEAN LAWYER WHO WAS VERY ACTIVE IN CIVIL MATTERS, AND WAS MAYOR OF FREETOWN FROM 1925 TO 1926 : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK HEROES "

              BLACK   SOCIAL   HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 Ernest Beoku-Betts

Ernest Beoku-Betts in 1937

Sir Ernest Samuel Beoku-Betts (March 15, 1895 – 1957) was a prominent Sierra Leonean lawyer who was very active in civic matters. He served first as member of the Freetown City Council and subsequently as its mayor (1925–1926). He improved the city and reorganized the council. Other political pursuits involved a period as a member of the Legislative Council, where he worked closely with Herbert Bankole-Bright.

In 1937, Beoku-Betts left politics and became police magistrate. He assumed more senior positions during the years and was the first national to be the Vice-President of the Legislative Council.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth the year of his death. He had won recognition for the legal progress of Sierra Leone during the colonial period as well as constitutional progress toward independence.