A bail application challenging the continued detention of Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, is set to be heard at the High Court on 20 May, according to the party’s General Secretary Justin Frimpong Kodua.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday (18 May), Kodua said he had visited Abronye at the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), alongside senior party figures, including former Trade and Industry Minister K. T. Hammond, Deputy General Secretary Haruna Mohammed, Central Regional Chairman Dennis Percyval Quaicoe, and the 2024 parliamentary candidate for Agona West, Christopher Arthur.

Kodua said Abronye remained “resolute, courageous and in very high spirits” despite his detention, adding that he had expressed gratitude to party supporters across the country for their solidarity.

He said the NPP regional chairman also sent greetings to members in the Bono Region and urged party supporters to remain united and steadfast.

“His spirit remains unbroken, and his conviction unwavering,” Kodua wrote, quoting Abronye as assuring supporters that he would “definitely be back.”

According to Kodua, a bail application has already been filed at the High Court, with proceedings expected to get the NPP stalwart released.

Abronye DC, has been remanded for two weeks as investigations continue into allegations of misinformation and offensive public statements.

The outspoken politician was rearrested on Wednesday, 13 May, just weeks after he had earlier been granted bail in connection with the same matter.

Authorities have now taken him back into custody as security agencies intensify investigations into the allegations against him.

For Deputy Minority LeaderPatricia Appiagyei the arrest breached Article 14 of Ghana’s Constitution, which guarantees personal liberty.

“We are looking at the constitutional provision that no person shall be deprived of his liberty except under clearly defined circumstances,” she said on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (18 May), arguing that the case did not meet that threshold.

Appiagyei maintained that Baffoe’s comments amounted to criticism rather than criminal conduct, warning against what she described as the criminalisation of dissent.

“We are not encouraging insults, but every citizen has the right to criticise a system,” she said.

She also questioned the legal basis for Baffoe’s detention, alleging that as of close of business on Friday, no formal documentation had been produced to justify the remand.

According to her, the justification that the accused could continue making public comments if granted bail was insufficient grounds for detention.

“That is persecution, not prosecution,” she said.

The opposition has further raised concerns about the potential use of legal provisions to indirectly reintroduce criminal libel, which was repealed in Ghana more than two decades ago.