Larry Dogbey: Full Reason Herald Editor Was Jailed 7 Days Over Kevin Okyere And Petraco SA Reportage

• The Herald newspaper editor Larry Dogbey has been sentenced to seven days in prison after being found guilty of contempt by an Accra High Court
• Justice Isaac Addo delivered the judgment on Thursday, June 25, over the newspaper's publication of a case involving Kevin Okyere and Petraco SA
• Dogbey confirmed the conviction and sentence in a Facebook post, announcing he had been committed to prison following the ruling

Larry Dogbey, Editor of The Herald newspaper, was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment after an Accra High Court found him guilty of contempt of court.

Justice Isaac Addo delivered the judgment on Thursday, June 25, in a case stemming from The Herald's publication of issues involving Ghanaian businessman Kevin Okyere.

The articles published by The Herald concerned a petition filed by Petraco SA against Okyere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP).

According to the court, Dogbey failed to comply with an interlocutory injunction restraining him from further publishing statements relating to the dispute between Okyere and Petraco SA.

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Following the court's decision, Dogbey confirmed the conviction and sentence in a post on Facebook, announcing that he had been committed to prison as a result of the ruling.

"Justice Isaac Addo for an Accra High Court, has just convicted me and sentenced me to seven days' imprisonment in the case involving Kevin Okyere and Petraco SA. The Herald newspaper reported only on a petition filed by the multinational company with CID, EOCO, GIP, Attorney-General, etc. Ghana deserves better. Journalism is not a crime."

A seven-day custodial sentence for a newspaper editor over contempt of court is a rare occurrence in Ghana and raises questions about the boundaries of press freedom and judicial reporting in the country.

The full court judgement can be read here.

The section on his sentencing read:

"In sentencing the Respondent, the court has taken into consideration of the submission made by his counsel for mitigation of the sentence and for a non-custodial sentence to be imposed on the Respondent. The Respondent is also a first-time offender. The court has also considered the fact that the Respondent, LARRY ALANS DOGBE, a journalist by profession of over two (2) decades, had full knowledge of the subsistence of the Interlocutory Injunction Order of this Court dated the 11th June, 2025, which restrained him from further publication of statements intended to undermine and tarnish the Plaintiff's reputation within the society, the Petroleum Industry and as a businessman until the final determination of the suit.

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Despite this clear and unambiguous judicial directive, the Respondent willfully, contumaciously, and in flagrant disregard of the authority of this Court, proceeded to breach the said Order of 11 th June, 2025. The power of this Court to punish for contempt under Article 126(2) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 50 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47) is not meant to massage the ego of the Presiding Judge. Rather, it is an essential mechanism to preserve the dignity, integrity, and authority of the administration of justice. As a journalist, the Respondent has a heightened civic duty to promote the rule of law, not to actively subvert it. The media's constitutional freedoms under Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution do not constitute a license to treat lawful orders of a court of competent jurisdiction with contempt.

To vindicate the authority of this Court and to serve as a deterrent to others who may believe they are above the law, this Court cannot gloss over this willful disobedience. Accordingly, the Respondent, LARRY ALANS DOGBE, is hereby is sentenced to Seven (7) days' imprisonment in prison custody.

Let a Warrant of Committal be issued immediately to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, or his designated officers, to carry this sentence into effect."

Kevin Okyere arrested in the past

Okyere was reportedly arrested in Dubai back in September 2025 in connection with disputes over the defrauding of investors.

This came after a court in the United Kingdom threatened to arrest him in August 2025.

At the time, the UK court indicated that it would issue an arrest warrant for Okyere if he failed to appear in person on September 3, 2025, to answer criminal charges of fraud.

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The charges relate to an alleged fraud of $29,321,064.51 involving a cargo of gasoline supplied by EDURC Company DMCC and discharged at Tema, Ghana, on September 5, 2024.

Kevin Okyere meets Ship Dealer

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that Kevin Okyere met with socialite and media personality, Ship Dealer, in Kumasi.

The media personality expressed excitement after meeting the Ghanaian millionaire as he shared the chance encounter with his colleagues on a live radio show.

Many who monitored the radio show via social media took to the comment section to share their views.

Source: YEN.com.gh