An Accra High Court has sentenced journalist and Publisher of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbey, to seven days in prison after finding him guilty of contempt.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday, June 25, 2026, by Justice Isaac Addo.
Mr. Dogbey later confirmed the conviction in a post on social media, and to CitiNewsroom.com where he criticised the decision and defended the newspaper’s reporting on a dispute involving businessman Kevin Okyere and multinational company Petraco SA.
“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, Attorney General etc. Ghana deserves better. Journalism is not a crime,” he wrote.
The contempt proceedings are linked to articles published by The Herald concerning a petition submitted by Petraco SA against Kevin Okyere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP).
According to Mr. Dogbey, the petition had been lodged with a number of state institutions, including the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), and the Attorney-General’s Department.
The matter reportedly resulted in Mr. Okyere’s arrest and detention in Dubai.
While the court has handed down its ruling, details regarding the specific acts that formed the basis of the contempt conviction were not immediately available.
The case has nevertheless generated discussion among journalists and media practitioners, with Mr. Dogbey maintaining that The Herald merely reported on information contained in an official petition submitted to investigative and law enforcement agencies.
The veteran journalist is expected to serve the seven-day custodial sentence imposed by the court.
