The High Court in Accra has given the prosecution and defence 30 days to conclude plea bargaining talks in the alleged GH¢30 million fraud case involving Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
The court issued the directive when the case came before Justice Halima El-Alawa Abdul Baasit on Monday.
During the hearing, Samuel Atta Akyea formally announced his appearance as lead counsel for Chairman Wontumi, replacing Andy Appiah-Kubi as his lawyer.
Both sides told the court that negotiations towards a possible plea agreement had reached an advanced stage. Based on that development, Justice Abdul Baasit adjourned the case to August 27, 2026, for further directions.
Mr Atta Akyea said he had discussed the matter with the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, and believed the parties could reach an agreement through the plea bargaining process.
“I have conferred with the Deputy Attorney-General and I humbly hold the view that we can do a reasonable plea bargaining in his chambers. In the circumstances, I pray the court to enlarge time to enable us undertake that exercise,” he submitted.
The defence lawyer initially asked the court to postpone the case until October, arguing that the extra time would allow both sides to complete their discussions.
Dr Srem-Sai agreed that the negotiations needed more time but asked the court to grant 30 days instead of the roughly three months sought by the defence.
He explained that although Section 162(c)(5) of the law permits plea bargaining to take place alongside trial proceedings, the prosecution was willing to set that provision aside temporarily because the negotiations were already close to completion before they were disrupted.
“We have received an offer and we have made a counter-offer which we were supposed to conclude last week before the accused person’s conviction in another matter derailed the negotiations,” he told the court.
Chairman Wontumi was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison last week in a separate case involving illegal mining at Samreboi in the Western Region.
According to Dr Srem-Sai, the conviction made it impossible for prosecutors to meet Chairman Wontumi and his legal team to finalise the plea discussions.
He also told the court that the prosecution had not yet filed its disclosures in the fraud case. He said holding back the disclosures would help ensure they did not interfere with the ongoing negotiations.
“We believe that the new counsel will pick up from where we left off with the previous counsel,” he added.
Mr Atta Akyea accepted the prosecution’s position but maintained that a longer adjournment would give both sides a better opportunity to reach a final agreement.
“The reasoning of the honourable Deputy Attorney-General is sound and I am in agreement with him, save to say that we are pleading with you that we come back in term time (October) and that the charges have been withdrawn and we have come to terms. Two months from now should be favourable,” he said.
The court acknowledged that the law allows plea bargaining to continue alongside trial proceedings.
Justice Abdul Baasit said the court would continue to follow the relevant provisions of the law as the parties work towards resolving the matter.
The case will return on August 27, when the court is expected to receive an update on the negotiations.
