An Accra High Court has dismissed a GHS20 million defamation lawsuit filed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr. Randy Abbey, against Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye.

In its ruling, the court faulted Mr. Abbey for instituting the defamation action using resource of COCOBOD, including the services of the institution’s legal department, to pursue what it described as a personal matter.

The court held that the alleged defamatory statements were directed at Mr. Abbey in his personal capacity and not in his official role as CEO of COCOBOD, making it inappropriate for state resources to be deployed in prosecuting the case.

As a result, the court struck out the suit, bringing an end to the high-profile legal battle between the COCOBOD CEO and the outspoken political commentator.

The ruling is expected to reignite public debate about the use of state resources by public officials in pursuing private legal actions.