Boxing stakeholders drag IMC to court over expired mandate

A bitter leadership dispute in Ghanaian professional boxing has escalated into a High Court battle, with 10 influential stakeholders seeking to strip the Samir Captan-led Interim Management Committee (IMC) of its authority, barely two weeks before the October 31 deadline for elections to restore an elected Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) board.

The plaintiffs are demanding a perpetual injunction to stop Captan and his committee from administering professional boxing, arguing that their continued occupation of office violates the GBA constitution and Ghana’s sports laws.

The action, filed at the High Court in Accra on October 12, 2026, also names the GBA Secretary General, Patrick Johnson, as a defendant.

Represented by Michael Lartey of A & N Law Consult, the plaintiffs are suing in their individual capacities and on behalf of the Committee for Professional Boxing Stakeholders (CPBS) and GBA members in good standing.

Their case centres on the legality of a committee established as a temporary intervention following two ring-related deaths but which has remained in charge for more than a year without completing the transition to elected leadership.

According to the plaintiffs, the IMC’s original three-month mandate, following its inauguration on September 29, 2025, was subject to a maximum one-month extension and should have expired by the end of January 2026.

They further contend that a subsequent extension authorised through the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the National Sports Authority (NSA), requiring elections by June, also expired without the polls taking place.

The stakeholders argue that the committee’s continued operations contravene the GBA constitution, the Sports Act, 2016 (Act 934) and the Sports Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2477).

Beyond challenging its legitimacy, they want the court to restrain Captan and the IMC from issuing boxing licences, sanctioning bouts, collecting fees, operating the GBA bank accounts or interfering in professional boxing activities.

They are also demanding an account of the committee’s stewardship and the surrender of GBA properties, documents and records.

The suit seeks an order compelling Mr Johnson to convene an Extraordinary Congress within 14 days, with a five-member committee to be appointed to organise elections within five weeks.

The plaintiffs include the President of the Boxing Managers Association of Ghana, Moshud Zaid; the President of the Boxing Promoters Association, Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye; the President of the Boxing Matchmakers and Agents Association, Abdul Rasheed Williams; and the President of the United Boxing Coaches Association, Charles Quartey.

Others are the Vice-President of the Boxing Ring Officials Association, Erasmus Owoo; Percy Commey of the Veteran Boxers Association; Roger Barnor, former acting GBA President; Shadrach Aquaye, immediate past GBA Technical Director; Lawrence Carl Lokko, two-time GBA board member; and Nii Gonti Adjoor, popularly known as Adama Addy, a former board member.

The legal confrontation represents the latest twist in a prolonged administrative crisis that began after the deaths of Ghanaian boxer Ernest “Bahubali” Akushey and Nigerian Gabriel Oluwasegun Olarenwaju within six months.

Those tragedies triggered the suspension of professional boxing, dissolution of the GBA board and the appointment of the IMC to strengthen safety standards and oversee institutional reforms.

Although the committee introduced measures that facilitated boxing’s resumption in November 2025, its extended tenure has generated mounting resistance.

In January, the CPBS issued a seven-day ultimatum demanding a credible electoral roadmap. Elections expected between May and June were subsequently postponed amid financial difficulties, disputes over the delegates’ register and unresolved vetting issues.

Kofi Iddie Adams, the Sports and Recreation Minister, has now insisted that elections must take place by October 31, ruling out further government funding and directing that filing fees and, if necessary, contributions from aspirants should finance the exercise.