Managing Editor of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbey, was granted bail barely 24 hours after the court sentenced him to a seven-day prison term for contempt of court.

Speaking in gratitude to friends, colleagues and family who helped secure his early release while pending appeal, he admitted that such happenings are part of the journalism profession, describing them as an ‘occupational hazard’.

“It’s the hazard of the job. We go through this all the time. But thanks to friends, family and people who have followed my work over the years and appreciated the level of dedication we put into it,” he said while speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Tuesday, June 30.

Expressing his surprise at the level of support and solidarity shown him during his sentence, he indicated that he was deeply touched, citing support from unexpected individuals, including policemen and prison officers, among others.

“Good friends, lawyers, judges, politicians, the average policeman, prison officers, everybody. I was shocked that people came out with that level of support,” he said.

Dogbey further confirmed that the legal process is ongoing, noting that he remains on bail pending the determination of his appeal.

“We are still going through the process. I’m on bail pending an appeal. The bail was granted ex parte, so we are supposed to file additional documents, after which they will be served. I want to say thank you to everybody for coming through for me. It was overwhelming,” he added.

Dogbey was granted bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with two sureties after being sentenced to prison for contempt of court by an Accra High Court. The bail is valid for 10 days pending the hearing of his appeal.

He was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment on Thursday, June 25, after being found guilty of contempt of court for breaching an injunction order in a case involving businessman Kevin Okyere and Swiss oil trader Petraco SA.

Background

It all started on June 11, 2025, when the High Court issued an interlocutory injunction restraining The Herald from publishing material on Kevin Okyere pending trial.

Kevin Okyere is a Ghanaian oil and gas entrepreneur, best known as the Founder and CEO of Springfield Group, the first indigenous Ghanaian company to drill for oil in deepwater offshore fields.

About four months later, around October that same year, the Ghanaian Times published the injunction, which was served via substituted service, including WhatsApp delivery. However, despite the court exhausting all channels for the notice to reach The Herald newspaper, the media house went ahead and published multiple articles alleging fraud and legal troubles involving Mr Okyere, including claims of arrest warrants and bail in Dubai.

According to the court, the editor purposely disregarded the injunction order and was consequently sentenced in order to preserve the dignity and authority of the judiciary, while the judge stressed that press freedom was not an excuse for disregarding court orders.

The court also slammed the media house for damage to reputation linked to its choice of words, such as “fraud albatross”, adopted in the publication about Mr Okyere.

Although Dogbey maintained during cross-examination that he had not been served with the court order prohibiting further publication, the court rejected the explanation and ordered his immediate imprisonment through a warrant of committal issued to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service.