Paul Kwabena Yandoh, the Ashanti Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has made a dramatic appeal regarding the bail conditions imposed on the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Speaking to the media, Yandoh revealed that the bail amount of 50 million cedis (equivalent to 500 billion old cedis) set by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is beyond the financial reach of the entire NPP parliamentary caucus and Wontumi’s family.
Yandoh stated emphatically, “If EOCO sells all the 88 NPP Members of Parliament, they won’t raise 50 million cedis to release Chairman Wontumi. Even if we sell the MPs and Wontumi’s family head, we cannot get that money.
“Only President John Dramani Mahama and his brother Ibrahim Mahama have that kind of money,”he stated.
He went on to plead with the Mahama brothers to step forward and pay the bail to secure Wontumi’s release, saying, “We are on our knees begging John Mahama and Ibrahim Mahama to bring the money because none of us here can afford it.”
The high bail amount follows Wontumi’s arrest on May 27, 2025, after he reported to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and was subsequently detained by EOCO.
He faces serious allegations including fraud, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and involvement in illegal mining activities, as confirmed by the Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai.
Yandoh also expressed grave concern about Wontumi’s health condition in custody, revealing that the chairman has missed his essential morning and evening medications since the previous day.
“Wontumi is sick. He takes medicine twice daily but has missed doses since yesterday morning and evening. We don’t even know if he is dead or not,” Yandoh lamented.
The bail conditions require Wontumi to provide two sureties and a substantial financial guarantee, which he has struggled to meet.
While he has secured one surety, the full bail amount remains outstanding, leading to his continued detention at EOCO headquarters in Accra.
The arrest and bail conditions have sparked significant political tension, with NPP MPs staging protests and picketing EOCO’s offices, accusing the agency of biased and harsh treatment against their party stalwart.
Supporters blocked police vehicles and demanded Wontumi’s immediate release, describing the bail as punitive and unreasonable.
Source: www.kumasimail.com / Kwadwo Owusu
