The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, has apologised to President John Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama following his conviction for illegal mining.
The apology relates to comments he made about the President and the First Lady during the campaign leading up to the 2024 general election. It was also part of an appeal for clemency after he was sentenced to prison.
Wontumi, who is currently serving a 20-year jail term after being convicted for illegal mining activities in the Samreboi Forest, delivered the apology through his spokesperson, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, during an interview.
Boakye-Danquah explained that the apology was made in good faith and was intended to support an appeal for President Mahama to consider granting Wontumi mercy under his constitutional powers.
“The first call is to render an apology, and I think that is important. Former Chairman renders an apology to him if, at some stage, the conversations went overboard, which was never intended,” he said.
Boakye-Danquah stressed that the apology should not be seen as an admission that political rivalry between Wontumi and President Mahama had any influence on the legal proceedings or the court’s verdict.
“Not at all. We are aware that in this country there are influences. If you are able to identify those influences and begin making amends, I think we build a better society for all of us to live in,”
He added that the request for forgiveness was aimed at encouraging reconciliation and healing, rather than suggesting that politics played a role in the prosecution or conviction.
Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years in prison after Criminal Court 4 Division of the High Court found him guilty on all six charges brought against him.
He was tried alongside Akonta Mining Limited and a third accused person, Kwame Antwi, over illegal mining activities carried out on the company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully transferred mineral rights on the concession without obtaining approval from the sector minister.
They were also found to have facilitated mining operations without the necessary authorisation, in breach of the Minerals and Mining Act.
