The Accra High Court has explained why it sentenced journalist and publisher of The Herald, Larry Dogbey, to seven days’ imprisonment for contempt of court on Thursday, June 25, 2026, stating that the punishment was not to “massage the ego” of the judge but to protect the authority of the courts. The ruling, delivered by Justice Isaac Addo at the Accra High Court, followed findings that Mr Dogbey willfully breached an interlocutory injunction in a dispute involving Springfield Exploration and Production Limited CEO Kevin Okyere and Petraco SA.
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The court held that Mr Dogbey, publisher of The Herald, published material relating to the dispute despite an existing order restraining further commentary. Justice Addo ruled that the sentence was necessary to preserve the dignity and authority of the judiciary, not to serve personal interests.
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The judge also ordered an immediate Warrant of Committal directed to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service to enforce the sentence.
Court says contempt punishment protects judicial authority
Justice Isaac Addo emphasised that contempt sanctions exist to uphold the rule of law and ensure compliance with court orders. The court rejected suggestions that the ruling was driven by personal grievance.
He stated that journalists have a heightened responsibility to respect lawful orders, noting that constitutional press freedoms do not extend to disobeying binding injunctions.
The court further found that the tone and headlines used in The Herald publications suggested an intent to undermine the claimant’s reputation, describing some of the language as inflammatory and deliberate in nature.
Disputed publications and injunction breach
The contempt proceedings stemmed from articles published by The Herald concerning a petition filed by Petraco SA against Kevin Okyere, founder of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited.
According to the court, an interlocutory injunction issued on 11 June 2025 barred further publication on the matter, but Mr Dogbey allegedly continued reporting on it.
Despite his argument that he was not formally served with notice to cease publication, the court ruled that the disobedience was wilful and in clear breach of judicial authority.
Midway through the proceedings, the court reaffirmed that compliance with court orders remains mandatory regardless of media interest or public attention.
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Immediate enforcement order issued
The court ordered that Mr Dogbey be taken into custody immediately to serve the seven-day sentence. It described his conduct as contumacious and a flagrant disregard for judicial authority.
The ruling also cited Article 126(2) of the 1992 Constitution as the legal basis for the court’s contempt powers, alongside Order 50 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004.
Read the full ruling of the court here.
Mr Dogbey later confirmed the conviction in a social media post, maintaining that his reporting only reflected publicly available petitions and insisting that “journalism is not a crime.”
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