A Ghanaian private legal practitioner, Kwasi Fokuo Benyin, has sharply criticised a court decision to deny bail to political activist Kwame Baffoe Abronye, arguing that the ruling contradicts established legal principles governing misdemeanour offences.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (19 May), Benyin described the charges against Abronye — including offensive conduct and publication of false news — as misdemeanours, the least serious category under Ghana’s criminal law.
“Misdemeanour charges typically attract a fine, caution, or in aggravated cases a custodial sentence not exceeding three years,” he said.
He argued that bail is a constitutional entitlement rooted in the presumption of innocence, stressing that Abronye had not even entered a plea at the time of his first court appearance on 13 May.
Benyin said the judge’s decision to deny bail on grounds that Abronye might commit similar offences was legally flawed.
“Free speech is not a crime in Ghana,” he said, noting that criminal libel laws were repealed in 2001.
He further described as “egregious” the court’s decision to remand Abronye in custody indefinitely until the conclusion of the trial, warning that such cases could drag on for years.
“If he is eventually acquitted, what happens to the time spent in custody?” he asked.
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