By Gifty Boateng
In a ruling that has sent shockwaves through Ghana’s press corps, Justice Nana Brew’s High Court has slapped a perpetual injunction on investigative reporter Innocent Samuel Appiah, barring him from publishing a probe into Lysaro Group CEO Cynthia Adjei’s alleged tax shortfalls, lapsed filings, prime land grabs, and procurement favoritism tied to her husband Jacob Kwabena Adjei’s stints at GOIL and the Students Loan Trust Fund.
Delivered on December 10, 2025, the decision awarding Adjei all but damages reliefs plus GH¢10,000 costs frames Appiah’s standard pre-story queries as a privacy invasion, urging him instead to tip off EOCO or the CID if public interest truly beckons.
Adjei, the Trasaco-based businesswoman who insists she’s no public figure despite her sprawling Lysaro empire of seven entities from luxury pads to child care outfits had raced to the Human Rights Division earlier this year, roping in the AG as co-respondent.
Her seven-point plea decried Appiah’s questionnaire on Lysaro’s tax compliance, contract wins at state oil giant GOIL (where hubby helmed as acting MD), and dodgy government land deals as unlawful meddling in her home, correspondence, and affairs.
Rather than respond, she sought to preempt any exposé, arguing her private status shields her from scrutiny even as the allegations paint a picture of insider edges blurring family ties and public purse strings.
Justice Brew bought the pitch, ruling that Appiah’s pursuit trampled constitutional privacy rights, outweighing any public-interest angle.
“Publishing amounts to invasion,” the judgment intones, insisting journalists like the 17-year Lapaz veteran should hand off to state sleuths rather than air findings that could “injure” Adjei despite acknowledging the probe’s potential societal stakes.
Appiah’s affidavit pushback vowing ethical digs into “demining” tips on non-renewals, unpaid duties, and conflict-riddled GOIL gigs fell flat, with him decrying the bar as a “baseless” chill on constitutional fact-finding meant to staunch economic plunder.
Outrage erupted from media trenches: Fourth Estate’s Seth J. Bokpe cringed publicly at the logic, questioning why watchdogs must play cop instead of informer, while veteran Justice Kwaku Aniah decried the isolation of reporters facing punitive slaps scaring off the next wave.
As Mahama’s anti-graft drive promises sunlight on shadows, this gag order exposes the judiciary’s tightrope: shielding elites’ orbits or stifling the spotlight on how private players like Adjei allegedly feast on state favors.
With Appiah muzzled, Lysaro’s ledger stays locked fueling fears that courts are becoming fortresses for the connected.