A Kumasi-based journalist, Emmanuel Kwakye Asare of Wontumi FM, has been released on bail after spending two weeks in police custody over allegations of publishing false news.
The Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday granted him bail set at GH₵100,000, with two sureties who must be civil servants. His lawyers are finalising the paperwork to meet the court’s conditions.
Asare was arrested on August 12, 2025, after he alleged on his radio programme that President John Dramani Mahama had prior knowledge of the August 6 helicopter crash that killed eight people. He has since been charged with one count of offensive conduct.
Prosecutors argued against granting bail, insisting that investigations were ongoing. However, Presiding Judge Samuel Bright Acquah ruled otherwise, stating there was no legal basis to deny bail. He recalled a previous case in which an individual was remanded for insulting then-President Akufo-Addo but maintained that judicial fairness required consistency.
The journalist is scheduled to reappear before the court on September 1, 2025, as proceedings continue.
