BY ISSAH OLEGOR
An Accra High Court has dismissed an application by businessman and politician Nana Kwame Bediako seeking to stop Cola Holdings Limited from enforcing an English High Court judgment that has been registered for enforcement in Ghana.
The court, presided over by Justice Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe of the High Court’s Commercial Division 3, also ordered Nana Bediako popularly known as Cheddar to pay GH¢20,000 in costs to Cola Holdings Limited.
Nana Bediako had filed the injunction application through his lawyer, Bobby Banson, as he seeks to challenge an earlier ruling that allowed the registration of the English judgment in Ghana to stand.
His latest application was aimed at preventing Cola Holdings from taking steps to enforce the judgment until his appeal against the earlier decision is determined.
The dispute stems from an English High Court judgment dated January 23, 2025, which was obtained by Cola Holdings against Nana Bediako personally. The judgment was subsequently registered at the High Court in Ghana on May 20, 2025, paving the way for enforcement proceedings within the country.
Under the terms of the London judgment, Nana Bediako was ordered to pay US$14,928,314.70, or its equivalent in pounds sterling at the date of payment, to Cola Holdings.
The judgment also imposed continuing interest of US$3,271.96 per day from January 23, 2025, calculated at an annual rate of eight per cent on the judgment sum.
The underlying dispute relates to a financial obligation arising from a loan secured for Kensington Residential Partners 1 Ltd, otherwise known as No 1 Oxford Street, a company in which Nana Bediako and Azad Cola are shareholders.
According to the case history, Cola Holdings had guaranteed a loan granted to Kensington Residential Partners 1 Ltd by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
After the borrower defaulted on the loan, the IFC called on Cola Holdings, as guarantor, to settle the outstanding liability. Cola Holdings subsequently paid the amount owed under the guarantee.
The IFC later assigned its interest in the loan to Cola Holdings, which then sought to recover from Nana Bediako the portion of the outstanding obligation covered by an indemnity he had executed.
The indemnity formed the basis of Cola Holdings’ claim against Nana Bediako in the English courts after attempts to recover the amount were unsuccessful.
Cola Holdings subsequently commenced proceedings against Nana Bediako at the High Court in London and secured judgment in its favour.
The company then took steps to have the English judgment registered in Ghana so that it could pursue enforcement against the businessman within the jurisdiction.
Nana Bediako challenged the registration of the judgment before the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court, seeking to have it set aside.
However, that application was dismissed by the court on November 27, 2025.
The latest injunction application was therefore connected to Nana Bediako’s appeal against that November 2025 decision. He sought to maintain the status quo and prevent Cola Holdings from enforcing the registered judgment while the appeal remains pending.
The Commercial Division 3 has now rejected that attempt, leaving Cola Holdings in a position to pursue enforcement of the registered English judgment, subject to any further legal processes arising from Nana Bediako’s appeal.
The ruling adds another significant development to the long-running financial dispute, which has moved from proceedings in London to enforcement proceedings before the Ghanaian courts.
For Nana Bediako, the immediate consequence of the ruling is the additional GH¢20,000 cost order, while the principal judgment debt and accumulating interest remain at the centre of the dispute.
