The Editor and publisher of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbey, has been granted interim bail after being sentenced to a seven-day custodial term for contempt of court.
The bail, set at GH¢100,000 with two sureties, will remain valid for 10 days pending the hearing of his appeal application.
In its ruling, the court directed that:
“It is hereby ordered that interim bail is granted to the Applicant/Respondent/Convict in the sum of One Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢100,000.00) with two (2) sureties. This bail will only be in force for a period of 10days.
“It is further ordered that the Applicant/Respondent Convict is to repeat this application on notice and the same is served on the Applicant/Respondent before the expiration of the 10 days period given to the Applicant/Respondent Convict,” the court said.
The court further clarified its position on granting bail pending appeal without hearing the opposing side, stressing that such decisions are generally not made on an ex parte basis.
“The courts generally do not grant bail pending an appeal on an ex parte basis without notifying the opposing party. However, in extremely rare cases of dire urgency, such as an imminent life-threatening medical emergency or where the length of the sentence is such that the standard notice procedures will cause irreparable harm to the applicant, a court may entertain an emergency application.
“A seven-day custodial sentence is so short that the respondent will almost certainly serve the entire sentence before an appeal can be compiled, transmitted and heard. I have carefully read the motion paper, the supporting affidavit and all the annexures. The court finds merit in the application,” the court stated.
Dogbey was earlier jailed on Thursday, June 25, by an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Isaac Addo after being found guilty of contempt relating to publications on an ongoing legal dispute between businessman Kevin Okyere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), and Petraco SA.
The contempt charge stemmed from reports published by The Herald concerning a petition filed by Petraco SA against Mr Okyere.
The court held that Dogbey had failed to comply with an interlocutory injunction restraining further publications on the matter, leading to the issuance of a committal order.
Despite his argument that he was not formally served with notice to halt publication, the court ruled that he had acted in disregard of its directive and ordered immediate enforcement of the sentence.
“Despite this clear and unambiguous judicial directive, the Respondent willfully, contumaciously, and in flagrant disregard of the authority of this Court proceeded to breach the said Order of 11th June, 2025. The power of this Court to punish for contempt is grounded in Article 126(2) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 50 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004.”
It added: “Let a Warrant of Committal be issued immediately to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, or his designated officers, to carry this sentence into effect.”
In a previous social media post following his conviction, Dogbey maintained his innocence, arguing that the publication was based on a petition filed with state investigative bodies.
“Justice Isaac Addo of an Accra High Court has just convicted me and sentenced me to seven days’ imprisonment in the case involving Kevin Okyere and Petraco SA. The Herald newspaper reported only on a petition filed by the multinational company with CID, EOCO, GIS, the Attorney General, etc. Ghana deserves better. Journalism is not a crime,” he wrote.
However, he was granted bail on Friday, June 26, pending the hearing of his appeal application, within 10 days.
