The High Court in Accra yesterday granted bail to Kwame Baffoe Abronye after he spent 10 days in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) over alleged publication of false news.
Mr Abronye, the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, was admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with two justified sureties.
Presiding judge, Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, also ordered him to report to the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) every two weeks and surrender all travel documents to the registry of the court.
The court further directed him to seek permission before travelling outside the jurisdiction.
The bail application, filed and moved by his counsel, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, was not opposed by the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Edem Srem-Sai.
Mr Abronye was remanded into BNI custody by the Accra Circuit Court on May 13 after appearing before it over a video published online in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks against a Circuit Court judge.
According to the prosecution, the accused attempted to incite public disaffection against the court by alleging that the judge handled political cases and delivered rulings “full of grammatical errors.”
The prosecution also alleged that Mr Abronye described the judge as “a politician” disguised as a judge.
He has been charged with publication of false news and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace.
The arrest and detention of Mr Abronye drew criticism from the NPP Minority in Parliament, which accused the government of attempting to silence dissenting voices.
By Malik Sullemana
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