The Accra High Court has dismissed a GH¢20 million defamation lawsuit filed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Ransford Abbey, popularly known as Randy Abbey, against the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, alias Abronye DC.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul Basit, the court found the writ of summons and statement of claim to be procedurally defective, leading to its outright dismissal without any orders as to costs.
The suit, initiated on August 26, 2025, followed alleged defamatory broadcasts and publications made by Abronye, which Dr Abbey claimed were injurious to his hard-earned reputation.
According to court documents, the crux of the plaintiff’s case was that the defendant’s statements falsely accused him of corruption, manipulating cocoa prices for personal gain, and other misconduct in his role at COCOBOD.
Dr Abbey, a veteran broadcaster and sports administrator, sought several reliefs, including a declaration that the statements were defamatory, a full retraction and unqualified apology across all platforms where the allegations were disseminated, the removal of all defamatory content from the internet, a perpetual injunction restraining Abronye from making further similar remarks, and GH¢20 million in general, punitive, and compensatory damages.
However, the court ruled that the action was improperly instituted. The judge noted that while Dr Abbey sued in his personal capacity, the writ was issued by the Legal Department of COCOBOD, with its Legal Director acting as counsel for the plaintiff.
The court emphasized that COCOBOD itself was not a named party in the suit, rendering the proceedings impersonam and directed against a specific individual whose reputation was allegedly harmed.
“This suit bothers on defamation and it is trite that the tort of defamation is impersonam as it is directed against a specific individual whose reputation has been harmed,” the ruling stated.
It further highlighted that although the publications were made against Dr Abbey in his current position as CEO of COCOBOD, the institution could not warrant the Legal Department to issue the writ on his behalf in a personal matter.
The judge concluded that Dr Abbey, having sued personally, ought to have procured the services of a private legal practitioner rather than relying on COCOBOD’s resources, deeming the entire process defective and dismissing it accordingly.