Ayine to intervene for Abronye’s bail by Monday – Martin Kpebu

Private legal practitioners have said that keeping the NPP Bono Regional Chairman in custody undermines justice.

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has revealed that the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has given indications of intervening to ensure NPP Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye, is granted bail by Monday. He stressed that there is no legal justification for Abronye to remain in custody for an entire week.

Speaking on The Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, September 13, Kpebu insisted that Abronye’s continued detention was unnecessary since the courts are always available to sit on such matters. “Abronye doesn’t have to be in custody for even one week. Today, the right process can be filed, the judge can sit today and grant Abronye bail. If we don’t speak up, it will grow and become worse,” Kpebu argued.

He maintained that while he does not support the “despicable” comments that led to Abronye’s arrest, the charges levelled against him are misdemeanours, not serious crimes that warrant prolonged detention. “Ayine is stepping in so that latest by Monday, Abronye should be out. This is not what we voted you guys to come in and do,” he added.

Another private legal practitioner, Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, also criticized the Ghana Police Service for allegedly exploiting loopholes in the law to keep Abronye in detention. Speaking on TV3’s News360 on Friday, September 12, he argued that courts must act decisively to safeguard the liberty of accused persons rather than allow investigative delays to be used as a tool of control. “The police take advantage of the loopholes in our laws to remote-control accused persons,” Brako-Powers said.

Abronye has been charged with offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace and the publication of false news. The court has adjourned his case to September 19, 2025, following police claims that investigations are still ongoing.

Reacting further, Brako-Powers explained that the court has discretionary powers to grant or deny bail, citing Supreme Court precedent. However, he stressed that since the offences in question are misdemeanours, the court ought not to have accepted what he described as “police maneuverings” to prolong detention.

He warned that such practices risk undermining public confidence in the justice system if the judiciary continues to accommodate delays engineered by the police. “Justice delayed is not just denied, but manipulated when loopholes are exploited,” he cautioned, urging the courts to assert their constitutional mandate.