The Accra High Court has granted bail to Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu, one of the six men convicted in the 2024 coup plot case, setting the bail amount at GH₵2.5 million pending the determination of his appeal.

Debrah, a fleet manager by profession, was among those sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason and treason. Following his conviction, he filed an appeal and subsequently applied for bail while the case was under review.

A three-member panel of justices, presided over by Justice Eugene Nyadu Nyantei, ruled that Debrah had shown sufficient justification to merit bail under exceptional circumstances.

“We have come to an agreement after deliberation that exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated which warrant the grant of bail to the third convict-appellant-applicant pending appeal,” the court stated.

Under the terms of the bail, Debrah is required to deposit his passport with the court registry and may only travel outside Ghana with explicit permission from the court. He will also be placed on a Stop List at all national entry and exit points.

Additionally, one of the two sureties must justify the bail with a landed property. The court cautioned that any breach of the bail terms would result in its revocation.

Background

On January 24, 2024, the Accra High Court found six people guilty in connection with a plot to overthrow the government.

The convicted persons included two civilians, Donya Kafui, alias Ezor (a blacksmith), and Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu (a fleet manager), both found guilty of conspiracy to commit treason and treason. Another civilian, Johannes Zikpi, a Ghana Armed Forces employee, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason.

Three soldiers, Warrant Officer II Esther Saan Dekuwine, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, and Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon, were also convicted of conspiracy to commit high treason.

Three others, including Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Benjamin Agordzo, Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli, and Corporal Seidu Abubakar, were acquitted and discharged.

One of the main suspects, who was the Chief Executive Officer and owner of Citadel Hospital at Alajo, Accra, Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, died while standing trial.

Dr Mac-Palm was said to have collapsed in his house and rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The medical practitioner, a member of TAKE ACTION Ghana(TAG), a group allegedly formed to cause social change, studied medicine in the United States of America.