The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has launched a blistering attack on a High Court decision that jailed its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi‐Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, for 20 years over illegal mining offences, describing the ruling as “unsupported by evidence” and a “miscarriage of justice”.
Party rejects landmark illegal mining verdict
An Accra High Court on Monday, 20 July, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie Tay, convicted Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining Company Limited and a second accused person, Kwame Antwi – who is currently at large – on six counts.
The charges related to the unlawful assignment of mineral rights and the intentional facilitation of unlicensed mining activities within Akonta Mining’s concession at Samreboi in Ghana’s Western Region.
Prosecutors told the court that Mr Antwi‐Boasiako, as owner and controlling director of Akonta Mining, permitted two individuals, Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi, to conduct mining operations in the company’s concession in 2024 without securing the mandatory written authorisation from the Minister responsible for mining, in breach of the Minerals and Mining Act.
Justice Tay sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units, with an additional three‐year custodial term to be served if the fine is not paid. The custodial sentences are to run concurrently.
‘No evidence at all’ – NPP challenges court’s findings
Addressing journalists after an emergency national executive meeting in Accra on Monday, NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said the party respected the authority of the judiciary but fundamentally rejected the court’s conclusions.
“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,” the NPP chief scribe stated.
He argued that the key legal question before the court was whether Mr Antwi‐Boasiako had unlawfully assigned or transferred his concession to others, and insisted prosecutors had failed to demonstrate that any such assignment had taken place.
According to the party, the conviction rested on “assumptions and inferences” rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt, a standard required in criminal cases, and should therefore not stand.
Claims of selective justice in ‘galamsey’ fight
Mr Kodua Frimpong went further to accuse the government’s law‐enforcement machinery of selective justice in the broader campaign against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.
While details of other cases were not set out at the press conference, the NPP leadership suggested that similar or more serious violations by others had not been pursued with the same vigour, raising concerns, in its view, about even‐handedness in the application of mining and environmental laws.
The case against Chairman Wontumi has attracted intense public attention, with civil society voices and legal analysts previously debating the role of company directors and political figures in the illegal mining chain, and whether corporate structures such as Akonta Mining should shield individuals from criminal liability.
Appeal already under way
The NPP said its legal team had already commenced the appeal process, seeking to overturn both the conviction and sentence at a higher court.
The party expressed confidence that an appellate court would reverse the High Court’s decision once it examined the evidence and legal arguments afresh.
The conviction of a prominent regional chairman of a major political party over mining offences comes amid ongoing national controversy about environmental degradation, the enforcement of mining regulations and the political will to tackle galamsey.
With the appeal now in motion, the case is set to remain a flashpoint in Ghana’s debate over rule of law, accountability and the influence of political figures in the natural resources sector.
