Herald editor Larry Dogbey granted bail after contempt sentence

A seven-day contempt sentence handed to Herald newspaper editor Larry Alans Dogbey has been followed by bail, keeping him out of prison while further legal steps continue.

The Accra High Court had earlier convicted Mr Dogbey after finding that he breached an order restraining further publications in a dispute involving businessman Kevin Okyere and Swiss commodities trading firm Petraco SA.

Justice Isaac Addo ruled on Thursday, June 25, that the editor’s conduct amounted to deliberate disobedience of the court’s authority.

The order at the centre of the contempt proceedings was an interlocutory injunction granted on June 11, 2025.

It barred Mr Dogbey from publishing further reports connected to the matter until the case was determined.

The injunction followed legal proceedings involving Mr Okyere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited, and publications by The Herald relating to a petition by Petraco SA.

Mr Dogbey denied knowingly violating the order.

During cross-examination, he said he had not been served with the injunction and was unaware that the court had restrained further publication.

The court rejected that explanation.

Justice Addo held that the order was clear and that the subsequent publications breached it.

He described Mr Dogbey’s conduct as “willful, contumacious and flagrant disregard” of the court’s directive.

The judge said the High Court had power under Article 126(2) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 50 of the High Court Civil Procedure Rules to punish contempt.

He therefore ordered that a warrant of committal be issued to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, or officers acting on his behalf, to enforce the seven-day sentence.

Mr Dogbey has since been granted bail pending further proceedings.

The underlying dispute involving Mr Okyere and Petraco SA remains before the court.