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His first role was built around the skill he had learned at school: typing. But Justice Mensah did not intend to remain there. He recalled moving through several positions within the Judicial Service, gradually taking on greater responsibilities.
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Justice Philip Bright Mensah’s career is the kind of journey that sounds almost impossible in an age of instant success.
He entered the Judicial Service as a young man after completing commercial school.
More than five decades later, he had risen to Ghana’s highest court.
Speaking to Kafui Dey, the retired Justice reflected on the extraordinary journey from his early days as a typist to the Supreme Court.
He joined the Judicial Service in March 1975 after completing commercial school in 1974.
His first role was built around the skill he had learned at school: typing.
But Justice Mensah did not intend to remain there.
He recalled moving through several positions within the Judicial Service, gradually taking on greater responsibilities.
His typing skills remained useful even decades later.
“Because of my background I was typing my judgment myself even in the Supreme Court,” he told Kafui Dey.
At his peak, Justice Mensah said he could type between 40 and 50 words per minute — using equipment from the 1970s.
But the biggest turning point came when he decided to pursue further education.
He had earlier taken different steps to improve himself, including additional studies, but eventually received advice that would change the direction of his life.
Asked where he would have ended up if he had not listened to his mentor and returned to school, his answer was striking:
“I would have ended as a registrar.”
Education transformed that possibility.
Justice Mensah went on to study law and eventually moved from administrative roles into the judiciary.
He became a magistrate, then rose through the Circuit Court and High Court before reaching the Court of Appeal and, in 2025, the Supreme Court.
Looking back on 51 years of service, he believes education allowed him to make a far greater contribution to society.
“If I had not gone to school, studied and become a judge, my contribution to society would not have been as much as what I did in the judiciary,” he said.
His message to today’s Judicial Service staff is equally powerful.
Justice Mensah believes registrars and other staff should be given opportunities to educate themselves and advance.
“Somebody can start out in 2026 as a typist if the conditions are there,” he said.
For him, the story is not simply about becoming a Supreme Court Justice.
It is about what can happen when opportunity meets determination, education and mentorship.
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