The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application by businessman and former presidential hopeful Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, seeking to restrain the enforcement of a $14.9 million judgment obtained against him by UK-based Cola Holdings Limited.
Justice Doris Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe of the Commercial Division ruled on July 27, 2026, that Mr Bediako had failed to establish arguable grounds sufficient to warrant injunctive relief, and awarded costs of GH¢20,000 against him.
The judgment debt
The case stems from a judgment delivered by the High Court in London on January 23, 2025, ordering Mr Bediako to pay $14,928,314.70 plus interest at eight per cent per annum. The interest accrues at $3,271.96 per day from the date of judgment. At the Treasury exchange rate of GH₵16.15 to the dollar, the total amount including interest and costs is estimated at approximately GH₵258.76 million.
The judgment was registered in Ghana on May 20, 2025. An earlier attempt by Mr Bediako’s lawyers to set aside the registration was refused by the court on November 27, 2025.
Origins of the dispute
The legal battle traces back to a loan obtained by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Ltd (KRP1) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). KRP1 is a company in which Mr Bediako and Azad Cola hold equal shares.
Cola Holdings Ltd, a UK-registered company, guaranteed the loan. When KRP1 defaulted, the IFC called on Cola Holdings as guarantor to settle the outstanding amount. Cola Holdings paid the loan and took over the IFC’s rights to recover the debt.
Cola Holdings then sought repayment from Mr Bediako based on a Deed of Indemnity he had signed concerning his share of the loan. When he failed to repay, the company initiated proceedings in the High Court in London and obtained judgment against him personally.
Mr Bediako has consistently maintained that the dispute stems from a corporate loan rather than a personal obligation. In a public statement on January 23, 2026, he insisted that he never contracted any loan from Cola Holdings nor did the company make any payment to him personally. He has also argued that the judgment was improperly obtained, alleging that his UK lawyers failed to file defence processes and that Cola Holdings concealed from the UK court that it had commenced separate proceedings against KRP1 in Ghana over the same debt.
Court’s ruling
In dismissing the application, Justice Dabanka-Bekoe applied the principles governing stays of execution pending appeal, as established in Joseph v Jebeille and affirmed by the Supreme Court in NDK Financial Services Ltd v Yiadom Construction and Electrical Works Ltd.
The court found that Mr Bediako’s grounds of appeal—including arguments about the currency of the debt, the interest rate applied, and alleged public policy violations—did not establish arguable points of substance sufficient to warrant injunctive relief.
Central to the court’s decision was the finding that Cola Holdings holds identifiable assets within Ghana. The court noted that the respondent exhibited a certificate of registration of a mortgage from the Registrar of Companies and a memorandum of registration of mortgage at the Lands Commission, demonstrating registered security interests in immovable and other assets. The court rejected Mr Bediako’s assertion that Cola Holdings had “no traceable assets in Ghana,” describing the claim as “demonstrably at odds with the record”.
The judge declined to award punitive costs, noting that a litigant is entitled to test a ruling by appeal and seek protection pending that appeal.
Hotel seizure order
The ruling follows a separate High Court decision on July 21, 2026, which granted Cola Holdings and its appointed Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo, police assistance to take possession of the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel in Osu—a luxury property linked to Mr Bediako.
Justice Samuel Faraday Johnson of the Commercial Division found that Cola Holdings had properly registered its security interest over the property under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052), and was entitled to enforce its rights. The application was filed after Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited, the company occupying the hotel, refused to hand over the property to the Receiver voluntarily.
The latest ruling means the UK judgment remains registered in Ghana and enforceable while Mr Bediako’s appeal continues.
Legal representation
Cola Holdings and the Receiver were represented in the injunction application by Tsatsu Tsikata and Tata Kosi Foliba. Mr Bediako was represented by Bobby Banson.
