Lead counsel for Ashanti Regional New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, says his legal team will file an appeal against his conviction next week and immediately apply for bail pending appeal.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, July 25, Samuel Atta Akyea said preparations for the appeal were almost complete and expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would grant Wontumi bail while the case is being heard.
He confirmed that an application for bail pending appeal would be filed together with the appeal.
“That’s when we will do that,” he said when asked whether the defence would seek bail pending appeal.
Atta Akyea said he was optimistic that the appellate court would apply the law fairly and allow his client to remain out of custody during the appeal process.
“I’m hoping that the judges should apply the law and then we could get him out and contest the appeal,” he stated.
Explaining the grounds for the appeal, the former Abuakwa South MP said the defence was seeking to overturn both the conviction and the sentence.
“The appeal is simply saying, look, if the appeal should succeed, that is it,” he said.
He also argued that the 20-year prison sentence imposed on Wontumi was excessive, maintaining that the High Court should have considered the minimum sentence prescribed by law, especially because his client is a first-time offender.
”I thought they would even consider the minimum, which is 15,” Mr Atta Akyea argued.
The Accra High Court sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment for his role in illegal mining activities on the Samreboi concession in the Western Region.
The conviction stemmed from a case involving Akonta Mining Limited, where the prosecution argued that the company permitted illegal mining operations on its concession without the required ministerial approval.
