Court Grants Wontumi FM journalist Kwakye Asare GH₵100K bail

An Accra court has granted bail to Emmanuel Kwakye Asare, a journalist with Wontumi FM in Kumasi. Emmanuel Kwakye Asare had been in police custody for two weeks.

He was arrested on August 12, 2025, and charged with one count of offensive conduct linked to allegedly false news reported to cause fear and panic.

The court approved bail of GH₵100,000, with two sureties required. Both sureties must be civil servants. His lawyers are now working to complete the necessary steps so the bail can take effect. Asare is scheduled to return to court on September 1, 2025, as the case continues.

The charges relate to statements he made on his radio programme, in which he claimed that President John Dramani Mahama had prior knowledge of the helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, that killed eight people. The prosecution had opposed bail, citing ongoing investigations.

Presiding Judge Samuel Bright Acquah said although he had no reason to deny bail, he was guided by judicial precedence, recalling a similar case where a young man was remanded for insulting then-President Akufo-Addo.