Lawyers for Dr. Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple and Sesi-Edem Company Limited have filed a contempt application at the High Court against media personality Abubakar Ahmed, popularly known as Blakk Rasta, over a series of public broadcasts alleged to have scandalised the judiciary and undermined the administration of justice.
The application, brought pursuant to Article 19(12) of the 1992 Constitution, is seeking an order to commit the broadcaster to prison for contempt of court.
According to the motion and its supporting affidavit, the case arises from multiple broadcasts published on the respondent’s media platforms, including his widely followed YouTube channel, in relation to ongoing proceedings before the High Court involving the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and Dr. Kwamigah-Atokple.
The affidavit states that between April 13 and April 28, 2026, the respondent produced at least six broadcasts addressing the case, including issues relating to a court order freezing the applicant’s accounts and a pending motion for stay of execution.
Counsel for the applicants argue that the publications amounted to a sustained and deliberate campaign targeting the court, the presiding judge, Justice Richard Appietu, the parties, and their legal representatives.
The filing highlights several statements in which the respondent allegedly used harsh and derogatory language, portraying the court’s decision as fundamentally flawed. In particular, he is accused of claiming that the judge had “messed up the whole thing” and attributing statements to other judges suggesting confusion and disassociation from the ruling, which the applicants contends that it falsely portrays the judiciary as divided and distancing itself from the decision.
In another broadcast, the respondent allegedly suggested that a judge declined involvement in the matter to avoid “soiling” his hands, a phrase the applicants argue implies that the court’s decision is tainted by impropriety or corruption.
The affidavit further cites a separate broadcast in which the respondent made the following remarks:
“Tanko is going to the court, where we all are supposed to get justice ultimately. But again, our courts are seen to have some rodents in there who can just do anything as Anas Aremeyaw Anas exposed to us the other day in his exposé… Congratulations for EOCO for not getting frightened or hindered by any court or anything that has to do with the law.”
Lawyers for the applicants contend that this statement not only employs offensive language in describing members of the judiciary but also directly encourages disregard for judicial authority. They argue that praising EOCO for not being “hindered by any court or anything that has to do with the law” amounts to a public endorsement of defiance against court orders and poses a significant threat to the rule of law.
The applicants further maintain that such statements, taken together with other broadcasts, form part of a continuous narrative intended to undermine public confidence in the judiciary and exert improper external pressure on a sitting judge in an ongoing case.
According to the affidavit, this conduct constitutes the common law offence of scandalising the court, with an additional ground of contempt being the alleged intimidation of officers of the court.
The motion, filed by Mawunyo Kofi Adjaho of Knightscld Chambers, is seeking an order committing the respondent for contempt, as well as any further orders the court may deem appropriate.
The matter is scheduled to be heard at the High Court in Accra in May 2026.
Blakk Rasta is yet to publicly respond to the contempt application at the time of filing this report.
