High Court throws out Randy Abbey’s defamation case against Abronye
The High Court in Accra has dismissed a defamation suit filed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr Ransford Anertey Abbey, against the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Kwame Baffoe Abronye.
The ruling was delivered on Monday, January 19, 2026, by Justice Halimah El Alawa Abdul Baasit at the High Court, General Jurisdiction 2.
Dr Abbey initiated the action on August 26, 2025, accusing Mr Abronye of making defamatory statements during broadcasts and publications which he said damaged his personal reputation. He sought personal compensation for the alleged defamation.
However, the court held that the case was fundamentally flawed because it was filed through the Legal Department of COCOBOD, even though the suit was brought in Dr Abbey’s personal capacity. COCOBOD itself was not named as a party to the action.
Counsel for Mr Abronye argued that a state institution’s legal department cannot represent an individual in a private lawsuit, a submission the court accepted. Justice Abdul Baasit explained that defamation is a personal tort designed to protect an individual’s reputation, not that of a public institution.
She stated that having sued in his personal capacity, Dr Abbey ought to have engaged a private legal practitioner to represent him. The judge further held that public institutional legal resources cannot be deployed for purely personal litigation.
On that basis, the court declared the writ and statement of claim incompetent and dismissed the suit in its entirety. No costs were awarded against either party.
Dr Abbey had sought GH₵20 million in damages over what he described as false, malicious, and defamatory statements allegedly made by Mr Abronye during a public broadcast.