The Supreme Court of Ghana has nullified a five-year-old arrest warrant issued against US-based Ghanaian social media commentator, Kevin Ekow Taylor. The decision, delivered on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Accra, marked a significant turn in a prolonged legal standoff stemming from a contempt charge.
By a 4-1 majority, the apex court ruled that the warrant, originally issued in January 2020, violated the foundational legal principle of natural justice, as Taylor was denied the opportunity to respond before it was issued.
Presiding over the case, Justice Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu was joined by Justices Senyo Dzamefe, Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, and Philip Bright Mensah in the majority opinion. The lone dissent came from Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu.
The bench warrant in question was issued by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, sitting as a High Court judge, in response to a video Taylor had posted on Facebook. In the video, Taylor criticized the judge, accusing him of bias and alleging that his elevation to the Court of Appeal was politically motivated due to his role in the trial of five individuals charged with embezzling $4 million from the National Communications Authority (NCA).
Taylor’s comments, which were made while the case was ongoing, were deemed contemptuous and a threat to the integrity of the judiciary.
In his 2020 ruling, Justice Kyei Baffour reportedly stated:
“As a judge of impeccable integrity and outmost honesty, I find it necessary to invoke the powers vested in me under the constitution to proceed and cite him for contempt. I issue a warrant for him to be produced before the court to show cause why he should not be committed to prison.”
The warrant directed Ghana’s Police Service and other security agencies to locate and arrest Taylor, who was then believed to be outside the country. However, Taylor was never apprehended.
Justice Kyei Baffour argued that Taylor’s public remarks were intended to undermine public confidence in the court and incite opposition against him.
He said the video “sought to incite people against him and the court,” describing Taylor’s conduct as “scandalous and an affront to the justice delivery system.”
Despite the warrant being unenforced for half a decade, it remained active until the Supreme Court’s judgment this week, which effectively extinguishes the contempt proceedings against Taylor.
