Larry Alans-Dogbey, Editor of The Herald newspaper, has appealed his conviction and seven-day prison sentence for contempt of court, arguing that the injunction he was accused of breaching was unconstitutional and unlawfully restricted press freedom.
The appeal, filed at the Court of Appeal on July 1 by his lawyer, Peter Okudzeto, challenges both the conviction and sentence imposed by the High Court’s General Jurisdiction Division in Accra on June 25, 2026.
Justice Isaac Addo sentenced Alans-Dogbey to seven days’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of violating an interlocutory injunction in a civil suit brought by businessman Kevin Okyere and Springfield Exploration and Production Limited.
However, the appeal contends that the injunction itself was legally defective because it prohibited the journalist from publishing statements “intended to undermine and tarnish” Okyere’s reputation before any court had determined whether the publications were defamatory.
According to the appeal, the order amounted to an unconstitutional prior restraint on freedom of expression and effectively prevented legitimate reporting on matters of public interest.
The defence further argued that the injunction was too vague to be enforceable, pointing to the trial judge’s own observation during the contempt proceedings that aspects of the order lacked clarity.
Alans-Dogbey’s legal team maintained that the publications in question were based on official documents, including a petition from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), correspondence from the Ministry of Energy and documents from proceedings before a court in the United Kingdom.
The appeal also noted that the reports followed the Supreme Court’s February 2026 decision in the case of Stena Unicon Offshore Services Ghana Limited v. Springfield Exploration and Production Limited.
According to the defence, Kevin Okyere, as a businessman involved in Ghana’s oil and gas sector, is a public figure whose activities are subject to public scrutiny, adding that the journalist believed in good faith that his reporting was protected under the 1992 Constitution.
The appeal also questioned the validity of the service of court processes, alleging that a WhatsApp screenshot presented as evidence that Alans-Dogbey had been served with the injunction was fabricated.
The defence argued that the journalist neither knew the individual alleged to have sent the message nor owned the phone number associated with it, and contended that if proven, the alleged fabrication would amount to a fraud on the court.
The lawyers are asking the Court of Appeal to quash both the conviction and the custodial sentence, declare the original injunction null and void, or alternatively substitute the prison sentence with a non-custodial punishment if the conviction is upheld.
Kevin Okyere and Springfield Exploration and Production Limited are yet to publicly respond to the allegations contained in the appeal. The case is now before the Court of Appeal for determination.
