Herald Newspaper Editor appeals seven-day jail sentence for contempt

The Managing Editor of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbe, has filed an appeal against the seven-day custodial sentence imposed on him by the High Court for contempt of court.

Mr Dogbe is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn both his conviction and sentence, declare the interlocutory injunction order at the centre of the case invalid, or alternatively replace the custodial sentence with a non-custodial penalty.

In his appeal, the journalist argued that the High Court should not have granted the injunction order in the first place.

He further contended that the injunction was unclear and difficult to comply with, pointing out that the trial judge had described the wording of the order as “vague” but still proceeded to convict him for allegedly breaching it.

Mr Dogbe also challenged the standard of proof applied by the High Court in determining the contempt application, arguing that contempt proceedings are quasi-criminal in nature and therefore must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

He maintained that the court wrongly placed the burden on him to prove the accuracy of his publications rather than requiring the applicant to establish the alleged contempt.

The appellant argued that his publications were based on a Supreme Court decision in the case of Stena Unicon Offshore Services Ghana Limited v Springfield Exploration and Production Limited & Another, delivered on February 11, 2026, as well as official documents from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Ministry of Energy.

According to him, punishing a journalist for reporting on a Supreme Court judgment and publicly available documents amounted to an unconstitutional restriction on media freedom, contrary to Articles 162 and 165 of the 1992 Constitution.

Background

The High Court, presided over by Justice Isaac Addo, sentenced Mr Dogbe to seven days in prison after finding him guilty of disobeying an injunction order restraining publications concerning businessman Kevin Okyere, the Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Group.

The court held that Mr Dogbe’s continued publications despite the injunction amounted to a deliberate disregard of the court’s orders and undermined the authority of the judicial process.

The contempt proceedings arose from a defamation suit filed by Mr Okyere against the publishers of The Herald, Mr Dogbe and other parties.

Following the filing of the defamation case, Mr Okyere secured an injunction order preventing the defendants from publishing statements allegedly defamatory of him until the substantive matter was determined.

Mr Okyere later filed a contempt application, claiming that despite being aware of the court’s order, The Herald continued to publish materials that violated the injunction.

In his affidavit supporting the application, Mr Okyere argued that the publications demonstrated a disregard for the authority of the court and risked undermining public confidence in the judicial system.

“The actions of the Respondent are calculated to bring the Court into disrepute by showing to the entire world that the orders of the Court may be disregarded,” he stated.

Dogbe’s Defence

In response, Mr Dogbe opposed the contempt application, arguing that he was not aware of the injunction order when the publications were made.

He also challenged the admissibility of some of the documents presented by Mr Okyere in support of the contempt proceedings.

However, after considering the arguments, the High Court found the contempt application had merit, convicted Mr Dogbe and imposed the seven-day custodial sentence.

The appeal will now ask the Court of Appeal to review the decision and determine whether the conviction and sentence should stand.