The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana has denounced the 20-year prison sentence handed to its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako – widely known as Chairman Wontumi – claiming he was jailed on “assumptions and inferences” rather than hard evidence.
The Accra High Court sentenced Mr Antwi-Boasiako over illegal mining activities on a concession at Samreboi in Ghana’s Western Region.
But at a press conference in Accra on Monday, 20 July, NPP General Secretary Justin Frimpong Kodua said the party fundamentally rejects both the reasoning and outcome of the judgment and is confident it will be overturned on appeal.
He said the case failed to meet the criminal law standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt and insisted the conviction “cannot stand” when scrutinised by a higher court.
Party says conviction ‘unsupported by evidence’
Mr Kodua argued that during the trial it was not in dispute that Chairman Wontumi had legally acquired the mineral concession at the centre of the case. The real legal issue, he said, was whether Mr Antwi-Boasiako had unlawfully assigned or transferred his mineral rights in breach of Ghana’s mining laws.
“It is our considered view that Chairman Wontumi has been convicted in circumstances where there was no evidence at all to support a conviction in respect of the offence for which he has been convicted. It was never disputed that Chairman Wontumi lawfully acquired his Mineral concession.
“That fact was established and accepted before the Court. The central question was whether that concession had been assigned or transferred in violation of the law. It is our respectful view that no evidence was adduced before the Court establishing any such assignment or transfer of mineral rights by Chairman Wontumi,” he said.
According to the NPP, the prosecution’s case relied on interpretation rather than demonstrable proof of an unlawful transfer of rights.
‘Assumptions and inferences’
Mr Kodua further maintained that the state failed to produce documentary or direct evidence showing that Chairman Wontumi had assigned his mineral rights to any other person or entity.
He added, “the prosecution could not produce any evidence to show that Wontumi had assigned his Mineral right. Instead, the conviction rested on assumptions and inferences which, in our view, could not amount to proof beyond reasonable doubt.”
The party says that by relying on indirect conclusions rather than concrete proof, the court misapplied the standard required in criminal proceedings, where the burden lies on the prosecution to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
NPP brands ruling a ‘travesty of justice’
The NPP has characterised the ruling as a fundamental miscarriage of justice that undermines confidence in the legal process.
This, according to the party, “is why we firmly believe that this conviction is atravesty of justiceand has to be overturned on appeal.”
Senior figures in the party have rallied around Mr Antwi-Boasiako, one of the NPP’s most influential regional powerbrokers, arguing that the judgment is not supported by the record of evidence presented at trial.
Appeal planned against High Court decision
The NPP has announced it will pursue every legal option available to challenge the High Court’s decision.
The party insists that Chairman Wontumi is entitled to what it calls a genuinely fair hearing at the appellate level, where it believes the evidential weaknesses of the case will be exposed.
The General Secretary said the leadership remains committed to backing Mr Antwi-Boasiako through the appeal process, signalling that the case has become both a legal and political priority for the governing party.
While the High Court ruling stands, Chairman Wontumi faces a 20-year custodial sentence over alleged illegal mining on the Samreboi concession. The appeal, once filed, is expected to test how Ghana’s higher courts interpret the standard of proof in complex mining and environmental prosecutions involving politically prominent figures.
