A Kumasi-based journalist with Wontumi FM, Emmanuel Kwakye Asare, has been granted bail after spending two weeks in police custody.
Asare was arrested on August 12, 2025, and charged with offensive conduct related to the alleged publication of false information intended to cause fear and panic.
The charge stems from comments he allegedly made on his programme, claiming that President John Dramani Mahama had prior knowledge of the August 6 helicopter crash that killed eight people.
The court granted him bail of GH₵100,000 with two sureties, both of whom must be civil servants. His lawyers are currently working to satisfy the bail conditions.
Prosecutors had opposed the application, insisting that investigations were still ongoing. However, presiding judge Samuel Bright Acquah ruled in favour of bail, stating that there was no sufficient justification to keep the journalist in custody. He cited a previous case in which a young man was remanded for insulting then-President Nana Akufo-Addo, suggesting that similar treatment would be inconsistent.
Asare is expected to reappear before the court on September 1, 2025, as the case proceeds.