The Accra High Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Randy Abbey, against the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, January 19, 2026, the court, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul Baasit, described the writ as “procedurally defective.”
The court explained that the action was improperly initiated because the writ was issued by COCOBOD’s Legal Department, with the Director of Legal of COCOBOD acting as counsel for Mr Abbey, even though COCOBOD was not a party to the suit.
According to the court, defamation was “impersonation” and directed at a specific individual. As a result, since Mr Abbey sued in his personal capacity, the case should not have been instituted through the Legal Department of COCOBOD.
“The Plaintiff, having sued in his personal capacity, ought to procure the service of a private legal practitioner to represent him. I therefore find the instant Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim as procedurally defective and the same is dismissed,” the court held.
Following the dismissal, Mr Abbey refiled the defamation suit, this time engaging a private legal practitioner to issue the writ.
Background
In August 2025, Mr Abbey sued Abronye, demanding GH¢20 million in damages for defamation. He accused the NPP regional chairman of damaging his reputation over comments allegedly made on the radio, including claims that he travels from Accra with his own chair to meet cocoa farmers during farm visits.
