The Office of the Attorney‑General has declared its firm opposition to an application seeking to defer judgment in the criminal trial of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over alleged illegal mining activities in Samreboi. The motion, filed by newly appointed counsel Samuel Atta Akyea, requests a postponement of the July 3 ruling.
In response, Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Prempeh submitted a 13‑paragraph affidavit on June 25, urging the court to dismiss the application and proceed with judgment. Prosecutors argue the request is without merit, stressing that Wontumi has had continuous legal representation throughout the trial and that his former lawyer’s withdrawal was voluntary, not compelled by circumstances beyond his control.
“In a 13-paragraph affidavit in opposition deposed to by Nana Ama Prempeh, a Senior State Attorney, and filed this afternoon, the Attorney General strongly argues that the accused person having been represented by Counsel throughout the trial and that Counsel only withdrawing voluntarily and not for cause, the proper source for a new Lawyer to procure the records of and any brief or briefing on the case is the outgoing counsel and not the Court’s Registry,” the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) wrote in a Facebook post.
The prosecution further alleges that the decision by Samuel Atta Akyea to seek the records directly from the court’s registry, instead of obtaining them from the previous legal representative, was not made in good faith.
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Source: Kabah Atawoge
