High Court dismisses Cheddar’s bid to halt enforcement of $14.9m judgment

The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application by businessman Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, seeking to restrain UK-based Cola Holdings Limited from enforcing a $14.9 million judgment against him.

The Commercial Division, presided over by Justice Doris Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe, dismissed the application on July 27, 2026, and awarded costs of GH¢20,000 against Mr Bediako.

The application, filed by his lawyer, Bobby Banson, sought an order preventing Cola Holdings from enforcing an English High Court judgment against Mr Bediako personally pending the determination of his appeal against an earlier decision refusing to set aside the registration of the judgment in Ghana.

The judgment, dated January 23, 2025, ordered Mr Bediako to pay Cola Holdings $14,928,314.70, together with interest at eight per cent per annum. The interest accrues at $3,271.96 per day from January 23, 2025.

Using the Treasury exchange rate of GH¢16.15 to the dollar, the total liability, including interest and costs, is estimated at approximately GH¢258.76 million.

The English judgment was registered in Ghana on May 20, 2025. An earlier application by Mr Bediako to have the registration set aside was dismissed by the High Court on November 27, 2025.

Background to the dispute

The dispute arose from a Deed of Indemnity signed by Mr Bediako in connection with his share of the repayment of a loan obtained from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Cola Holdings had guaranteed the loan to Kensington Residential Partners 1 Ltd, a company in which Mr Bediako and Azad Cola hold shares.

After the loan went into default, the IFC called on Cola Holdings to honour the guarantee. The company subsequently settled the outstanding amount, after which the IFC assigned its interest in the loan to Cola Holdings.

Cola Holdings later sought to recover from Mr Bediako the portion of the loan it said he was obligated to repay. After unsuccessful attempts to secure repayment, the company commenced proceedings against him in the High Court in London.

Mr Bediako has maintained that the dispute relates to a corporate loan rather than a personal obligation and has challenged the manner in which the judgment was obtained.

Court rejects grounds for injunction

In dismissing the latest application, Justice Dabanka-Bekoe applied the principles governing applications for a stay of execution pending appeal, as established in Joseph v Jebeille and affirmed by the Supreme Court in NDK Financial Services Ltd v Yiadom Construction and Electrical Works Ltd.

The court found that the grounds relied upon by Mr Bediako, including arguments concerning the currency of the debt, the interest rate and alleged violations of public policy, did not raise sufficiently arguable issues to justify the injunction sought.

Court identifies assets in Ghana

A key factor in the court’s decision was its finding that Cola Holdings had identifiable assets and security interests within Ghana.

The court noted that the company had exhibited a certificate of registration of a mortgage from the Registrar of Companies and a memorandum of registration of mortgage from the Lands Commission, establishing registered security interests over immovable and other assets in Ghana.

The court also observed that the same documents had been exhibited by Mr Bediako himself in his earlier application seeking to set aside the registration of the English judgment.

Justice Dabanka-Bekoe therefore rejected Mr Bediako’s assertion that Cola Holdings had “no traceable assets in Ghana”, describing the claim as “demonstrably at odds with the record”.

GH¢20,000 costs awarded

The court ordered Mr Bediako to pay GH¢20,000 in costs to Cola Holdings.

Justice Dabanka-Bekoe declined to impose punitive costs, noting that a litigant was entitled to challenge a ruling through an appeal and seek protection pending the determination of that appeal.

The ruling comes days after a separate High Court decision on July 21, 2026, which granted Cola Holdings and its Receiver police assistance to take possession of the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel in Osu, a property linked to Mr Bediako.

In that case, the court found that Cola Holdings had properly registered its security interest over the property and was entitled to enforce its rights under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052).

Cola Holdings and the Receiver were represented in the injunction application by Tsatsu Tsikata and Tata Kosi Foliba, while Mr Bediako was represented by Bobby Banson.