The Accra High Court has convicted Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), commonly known as Chairman Wontumi, on all six charges related to illegal mining activities at the Samreboi concession in the Western Region. Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, who presided over the Criminal Division of the High Court, found Mr. Antwi-Boasiako guilty of several offenses, including the unlawful assignment of mineral rights and facilitating unlicensed mining operations, in violation of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended.
This ruling concludes a significant trial involving illegal mining, especially considering Mr. Antwi-Boasiako’s prominent role within the NPP and his public visibility. The court determined that the prosecution had successfully demonstrated that Mr. Antwi-Boasiako, as the owner and controlling director of Akonta Mining Company Limited, allowed mining activities on the Samreboi concession without obtaining the necessary approval from the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay found him guilty of charges related to the unauthorized assignment of mineral rights and the facilitation of unlicensed mining operations. The court noted that Mr. Antwi-Boasiako permitted Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi to conduct mining activities on the concession without securing the prior written approval required under Section 14(1) of Act 703. It further found that he facilitated mining operations by persons who did not hold a licence issued by the Minister, contrary to Section 99(2)(b) of the Minerals and Mining Act.
The six charges involved Mr Antwi-Boasiako, Akonta Mining Company Limited and Kwame Antwi, who remains at large.
They are:
- Assignment of mineral rights without approval against Bernard Antwi-Boasiako.
- Assignment of mineral rights without approval against Kwame Antwi.
- Assignment of mineral rights without approval against Akonta Mining Company Limited.
- Purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation against Bernard Antwi-Boasiako.
- Purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation against Kwame Antwi.
- Purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation against Akonta Mining Company Limited.
Each count carries a possible sentence of up to 25 years’ imprisonment. The court is yet to pronounce a sentence. Mr Antwi-Boasiako had pleaded not guilty to all charges when he was arraigned on October 7, 2025, and maintained his innocence throughout the trial. The case followed a special police anti-illegal mining operation conducted in the Samreboi area on April 16 and 17, 2025, which resulted in the arrest of Michael Ayisi Gyedu and 28 others.
Authorities seized several items during the operation, including excavators, firearms, suspected gold materials and cash amounting to GH¢157,000. The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, called four witnesses, including Henry Okum, Michael Ayisi Gyedu, a mineral law expert and a police investigator.
Mr Okum told the court that he approached Mr Antwi-Boasiako in September 2024 seeking permission to undertake mining operations on the concession and that he was granted approval to proceed.
A Senior Manager for Legal Affairs at the Minerals Commission, Joseph Iroko, also testified that records at the Commission did not show any application or ministerial approval authorising the assignment or transfer of the concession. After the prosecution closed its case, the court dismissed a submission of no case filed by the defence, ruling that the prosecution had established sufficient evidence requiring Mr Antwi-Boasiako to open his defence.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako later testified in court, denying that he authorised mining activities on the concession. He told the court that Henry Okum had only been contracted to undertake land reclamation and a coconut plantation project, rather than mining. The defence called witnesses including former Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources George Mireku-Duker and former Western Regional Minister Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah.
The Republic has also applied for the forfeiture of items retrieved from the concession, including excavators, firearms, vehicles and the GH¢157,000 cash seized during the operation. The court is expected to determine the forfeiture application and proceed with sentencing.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako and the other accused persons retain the right to appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal and subsequently the Supreme Court.
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Source: Myjoyonline
