A Kumasi-based journalist with Wontumi FM, Emmanuel Kwakye Asare, has been granted bail after spending two weeks in police custody over allegations of spreading false information.
He was arrested on August 12, 2025, and charged with one count of offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace, after prosecutors accused him of publishing false news with the intent to cause fear and panic.
According to court records, the journalist alleged during a live radio broadcast that President John Dramani Mahama had prior knowledge of the August 6, 2025, helicopter crash which claimed the lives of eight people. The comment drew strong criticism and sparked public debate.
The prosecution opposed bail, insisting that the case was still under active investigation and that releasing him could compromise evidence gathering. Presiding Judge Samuel Bright Acquah, however, ruled that there was no sufficient basis to continue holding the journalist in remand.
He explained that while the comments were serious, judicial precedents must guide decisions, recalling a previous case where a young man was remanded for allegedly insulting then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Asare was granted bail in the sum of GH₵100,000 with two sureties, both of whom must be civil servants. His legal team is currently working to meet the conditions to secure his release.
He is expected to reappear before the court on September 1, 2025, when the case will continue.
Meanwhile, media rights advocates and civil society organizations have voiced concern, cautioning that prosecuting journalists through the criminal justice system could threaten press freedom. Some have called for the matter to be referred to the National Media Commission instead.
