The High Court in Accra has dismissed a defamation suit filed by Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Ransford Anertay Abbey, against Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC.
The suit, filed on August 26, 2025, was struck out on Monday, January 19, 2026, after the court upheld a preliminary legal objection challenging the procedure used in initiating the action.
In her ruling, Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul Baasit held that the writ of summons and statement of claim were procedurally defective, leading to their dismissal.
According to the court, the plaintiff’s case was grounded in defamation, which the judge noted is in personam as it is directed against a specific individual whose reputation has been harmed.
Justice Abdul Baasit observed that although the alleged defamatory publications related to Dr. Abbey’s role as Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, the institution itself was not a party to the suit, yet the action was filed by COCOBOD’s Legal Department.
“The Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim was issued by the Legal Department of Plaintiff’s institution being Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) with the Legal Director of COCOBOD being Counsel for the Plaintiff,” the court stated.
The judge ruled that this was improper, stressing that since Dr. Abbey sued in his personal capacity, he ought to have engaged a private legal practitioner.
“The Plaintiff having sued in his personal capacity ought to procure the service of a private legal practitioner to represent him,” the ruling said.
Consequently, the court concluded: “I therefore find the instant Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim as procedurally defective and same is dismissed. There shall be no orders as to cost.”
The ruling was delivered after counsel for the defendant elected not to move an application following directions from the court, prompting the judge to proceed with the ruling.
Background
Dr. Abbey, a former host of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana and current COCOBOD CEO, sued Abronye DC over comments allegedly made during a public broadcast which he described as defamatory and damaging to his reputation.
In the suit, Dr. Abbey accused Abronye of making false claims that he had misused COCOBOD resources, including allegations that he deployed multiple official vehicles to transport a personal chair during visits to cocoa farms and manipulated appointments within the institution for personal gain.
Dr. Abbey was seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the statements were defamatory, a retraction and apology, removal of the publications, and GH¢20 million in damages.
However, the court’s ruling brings the case to an end, at least in its current form, on procedural grounds rather than on the merits of the allegations.
