Larry Dogbey: Herald Editor Granted Bail After Contempt Conviction
- An Accra High Court sentenced Herald editor Larry Dogbey to seven days in prison for contempt over publications linked to Kevin Okyere
- Justice Isaac Addo ruled that Dogbey willfully defied a June 2025 injunction barring further publications on the Petraco SA case
- Dogbey has since been granted bail pending further legal proceedings after the court rejected his defence that he was unaware of the order
Larry Alans Dogbey, journalist and editor of The Herald newspaper, has been granted bail after an Accra High Court sentenced him to seven days' imprisonment for contempt of court on Thursday, June 25.
Citi News reported that he was granted bail on June 26.
Source: Youtube
Justice Isaac Addo handed down the sentence following publications by The Herald concerning an ongoing legal dispute between businessman Kevin Okyere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), and Swiss commodities trading firm Petraco SA.
The contempt proceedings stemmed from articles The Herald published in connection with a petition filed by Petraco SA against Okyere. The court found that Dogbey had breached an interlocutory injunction issued on June 11, 2025, which restrained him from publishing further reports on the matter pending its determination.
During cross-examination, Dogbey argued that he had not been served with notice of the injunction and was therefore unaware of the order to cease publication. The court rejected that defence outright.
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.
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.
The judge directed that a Warrant of Committal be issued to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, or officers acting on his behalf, to enforce the sentence.
Dogbey has since been granted bail and is expected to pursue further legal proceedings in connection with the matter.
What did the judge say about Larry Dogbey's sentencing?
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.
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.
Source: YEN.com.gh
