The Supreme Court of Ghana has nullified a bench warrant that was issued in 2020 for the arrest of US-based Ghanaian journalist, Kevin Ebo Taylor.
The warrant stemmed from alleged contemptuous remarks Taylor made about Justice Eric Kyei Baffour in a Facebook video. At the time, Taylor accused the judge of being promoted to the Court of Appeal as a political reward during the high-profile NCA embezzlement trial, in which former Board Chairman Eugene Baffour-Bonnie and others were facing prosecution.
The Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Kyei Baffour, issued the arrest warrant on January 16, 2020, ordering Taylor to appear before the court and defend himself against contempt charges. The judge deemed the video comments “scandalous” and described them as a deliberate attack on the judiciary, with the potential to erode public trust in the legal system.
However, the Supreme Court, in its latest ruling, determined that the warrant was unlawful and should not have been issued under the circumstances. This judgment effectively ends a five-year legal standoff between Taylor and the Ghanaian judicial system.
The court’s decision has been welcomed by press freedom advocates, who have long expressed concern over the use of contempt laws to silence critical voices in the media.
