High Court Convicts Chairman Wontumi; Sentences Him to 20 Years for Illegal Mining in Samreboi Case | Discuss Ghana

In a landmark judicial verdict, the High Court in Accra has convicted and sentenced the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, to 20 years in prison for his role in illegal mining operations.

Presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, Criminal Court 4 found Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining Company Limited, guilty on charges relating to assigning mineral rights without ministerial approval and purposely facilitating unlicensed mining on their concession in Samreboi, Western Region.

"The prosecution proved all essential elements of the offences beyond a reasonable doubt," Justice Kocuvie-Tay ruled while delivering the judgment.

The Charges and Sentencing Breakdown

The court handed down severe penalties under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703):

Custodial Sentence: Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years in prison on each of the counts for which he was convicted, with the terms set to run concurrently.

Fines Imposed: In addition to the jail sentence, Wontumi was ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 penalty units (GHS 120,000), while Akonta Mining Limited was slapped with a fine of 15,000 penalty units on two separate counts.

Last-Minute Defense Motion Dismissed

Before handing down the ruling, the court rejected a last-minute application filed by lead defense attorney Samuel Atta Akyea on July 16. The defense had requested a postponement of the judgment to refer constitutional questions regarding Section 14(1) of the Minerals and Mining Act to the Supreme Court for interpretation.

Justice Kocuvie-Tay dismissed the motion as lacking merit, holding that the statutory provisions governing mineral assignment rights were clear, unambiguous, and did not infringe on fair trial guarantees under Article 19(11) of the 1992 Constitution.

The Samreboi Concession Trial

The Attorney-General arraigned Wontumi following an investigation that revealed Akonta Mining permitted third-party small-scale operators to conduct illegal mining operations on its Samreboi concession without obtaining mandatory prior written authorization from the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.

While Wontumi maintained during his defense that he had only granted land permissions strictly for agricultural and reclamation purposes, the court relied on prosecution testimonies and circumstantial evidence to conclude that the illegal mining activities were knowingly facilitated by the company's executive leadership.