Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has defended the GH¢50 million bail imposed on the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
According to him, the amount is not excessive considering the nature of the allegations against Wontumi, including fraud, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the state.
Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr. Kpebu explained that since the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has not disclosed the specific amount of money involved in the alleged fraud, it is difficult to argue that the GH¢50 million bail is excessive.
“I don’t think the GH¢50 million bail condition is too excessive. We can fault EOCO for not coming out clearly with the amount involved in the alleged fraud. If they had, maybe we would realise that the GH¢50 million is even small,” he said.
He added that EOCO should have been more transparent with the financial details of the charges to help the public better understand the rationale behind the bail amount.
“To me, that’s where EOCO erred. They should have told us exactly how much money is at stake in all these fraud allegations and other allegations,” he stressed.
Mr. Kpebu expressed surprise that some members of the public are calling the bail excessive when, in his view, the nature of the allegations suggests the amount could be justified.
“I’m even shocked people are making noise that the GH¢50 million is too much. Wontumi has done a lot of things – although most of them are grapevine talk – but the charges are plenty,” he said.
He further noted that Wontumi is not the only person in Ghana’s legal history to have received such a high bail amount.
Meanwhile, Chairman Wontumi’s legal team has withdrawn a motion filed on May 30, 2025, seeking a variation of the bail conditions.
The motion was scheduled for hearing on Tuesday, June 3, but was formally withdrawn on Monday, June 2.
Wontumi had initially challenged the GH¢50 million bail set by EOCO, arguing through his lawyers that the amount was excessive and could frustrate his release.
However, his lead counsel, Andy Appiah-Kubi, has since confirmed that all documentation for the two justified sureties has now been completed.
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