Managing Editor of The Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbe has been sentenced to seven days imprisonment by an Accra High Court in a contempt case involving businessman Kevin Okyere and Swiss commodity trading firm Petraco SA, causing uproar among journalists and media personalities in the country.
The sentence was handed down by Justice Isaac Addo of the High Court on Thursday, June 25, according to the journalist.
The conviction stems from a contempt application filed by Mr. Okyere, founder of Springfield Exploration and Production, who accused Mr. Dogbe and his media outlet of violating a subsisting court injunction restraining publications deemed harmful to his reputation.
In a social media post on the same day announcing the judgment, Mr. Dogbe expressed disappointment over the court’s decision and defended his work as a journalist.
“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,” he wrote.
The contempt proceedings arose from an application filed by Mr. Okyere at the High Court, General Jurisdiction Division, seeking an order to commit Mr. Dogbe for allegedly breaching an injunction order.
According to the applicant’s written submissions, the court had restrained the respondent from publishing statements intended to undermine or tarnish Mr. Okyere’s reputation pending the determination of the substantive case.
Mr. Okyere’s legal team argued that subsequent publications by the journalist and his media outlet amounted to a deliberate violation of the court order.
The application cited several publications and headlines which the applicant claimed linked him to fraud allegations and damaged his reputation within the petroleum industry and the wider public.
Among the publications referenced were reports concerning alleged fraud claims, creditor disputes and foreign court proceedings involving Mr. Okyere.
The applicant’s lawyers argued that the publications were made despite the existence of a valid court order and constituted a wilful disregard for the authority of the court.
Mr. Dogbe, however, challenged the contempt application and reportedly argued that he did not have knowledge of the injunction order at the material time, according to news outlet Norvan Reports.
He also questioned the authenticity and admissibility of some of the documents relied upon by the applicant.
The court was required to determine whether a valid court order existed, whether the respondent had notice of that order and whether there had been a deliberate breach.
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