Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is set to appeal the 20-year prison sentence handed to him by the Accra High Court after he was convicted of illegal mining offences.
On Monday, July 20, the High Court found Chairman Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining, guilty of engaging in illegal mining activities at the company’s concession in Samreboi, Western Region.
The court subsequently sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
Before the judgement was delivered, Wontumi’s lead lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, requested that the ruling be postponed, explaining that he was out of the country and expected to return on July 22.
However, the trial judge, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, dismissed the request, stating that both the prosecution and defence had agreed on the judgement date beforehand.
She noted that any concerns about counsel’s availability should have been raised when the date was fixed.
The court also rejected a separate application by the defence seeking to delay the judgement and refer constitutional questions arising from the case to the Supreme Court.
Chairman Wontumi had been charged with assigning mineral rights without the approval of the sector minister and facilitating unlicensed mining operations at Samreboi.
Speaking after the sentencing, his former lawyer, Kwame Andy Appiah Kubi, revealed that Wontumi had already instructed him to file an appeal if a custodial sentence was imposed.
“We will proceed on appeal. He called me this morning and instructed me that if it should happen this way, I should appeal on his behalf,” Appiah Kubi said.
The appeal is expected to challenge both the conviction and the 20-year prison sentence imposed by the High Court.
