High Court quashes arrest warrants against Bloom Bar founders

The High Court has nullified arrest warrants and the service of a contempt application against the founders of Blue Chip Hospitality Limited (BCH), Mr. Kofi Adjei-Maafo and Mr. Keith Edem Aweke, operators of Bloom Bar.

The ruling said to have been delivered on October 11, 2024, highlighted that the two directors were not properly served with court processes, as they were outside the country at the time. This rendered the court’s jurisdiction over them invalid.

The case stems from a dispute between BCH and The Secret Garden Limited (TSG), owned by Mr. Kwame Edenkema Blay. TSG had secured a bench warrant in relation to claims against BCH, but the court found these actions improper. The ruling also brought attention to the publication of claims by Daily Guide, alleging that BCH had sold TSG’s property.

Daily Guide on July 29, 2024, reported that an Accra High Court had issued bench warrants for the arrest of Edem Keith Aweke and Kofi Adjei-Maafo, owners of Bloom Bar, due to their repeated failure to attend court without justification in a quasi-criminal matter.

Giving a background to the issue, the report further said: “Blue Chip entered into a tenancy agreement with The Secret Garden for the rental of the latter’s property in Cantonments, which they used for a restaurant called East End Bistro.

“However, Aweke and Adjei-Maafo have failed to pay rent as stipulated in the tenancy agreement. Consequently, The Secret Garden filed a writ and statement of claim against Blue Chip, seeking their eviction from the property due to non-payment of rent.”

The report added that, “During the pending suit, The Secret Garden discovered that Blue Chip had publicly listed the property for sale to a third party for USD 380,000. The Secret Garden then applied for an injunction to prevent Blue Chip and its agents from transferring any interest in the property, arguing that the property did not belong to them. The court granted the injunction.

“Despite this, Blue Chip allegedly violated the court’s orders and transferred their interest in the property to La Maison.”

BB