Wontumi jailed 20 years over Samreboi illegal mining activities as Akonta Mining fined GH¢180k
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after being found guilty of assigning mineral rights without prior approval.
This was after the Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, found him and his company, Akonta Mining, guilty of all charges levelled against them.
Wontumi, who arrived in court in high spirits wearing a yellow-and-blue kaftan, had wanted the court to adjourn the case to a later date, following a letter requesting that his motion for referral be adjourned because his lead lawyer had travelled.
That application sought for the court to defer the judgment, which had earlier been deferred from July 3 to July 20, so that a referral could be made to the Supreme Court.
But the court refused the request and, while striking out the application for adjournment of the motion, dismissed the request for referral to the Supreme Court.
Chairman Wontumi (A1) and his company Akonta Mining (A3) had pleaded not guilty to:
Assignment of mineral rights without approval, contrary to Section 14(1) and Section 99(2)(b) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as amended by Section 3 of the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995).
And purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation, contrary to Section 99(2)(b) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as amended by Section 3 of the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995).
Prosecution led by Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai paraded four witnesses to prove the guilt of the accused while Wontumi’s five witnesses including himself failed to provide answers to the charges.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay held that on the charge of assignment of mineral rights without approval, it had been established beyond reasonable doubt that no ministerial approval was ever sought and that Wontumi assigned Akonta Mining’s mineral right to Henry Okum (PW2) to conduct mining activities and not just reclamation activities.
The court also held that Wontumi was the de facto mineral rights holder of the concession in Samreboi and, the corporate veil having been lifted, Wontumi is found guilty.
The court also held that Wontumi assigned the mineral right without approval after finding that the same ingredients have been proven against Akonta Mining.
The court also said Wontumi’s failure to verify Henry Okum’s (PW2) competence or supervise the site made him complicit in the charge, and each ingredient has accordingly been established against him to the required standard.
Pleas in Mitigation
Charles Boakye, holding brief for Samuel Atta Akyea, in his plea for mitigation submitted that the offences for which the accused have been charged…
He said it is trite law that a trial court has the discretion to determine the length of sentence, however, that discretion must be exercised judiciously.
He said A1 (Wontumi) and A3 (Akonta Mining) are first-time offenders and when A1 realised there was illegal mining on the concession of A3, he took steps and wrote to the Regional Coordinating Council to ward off illegal miners.
Counsel said A1 is remorseful and is also the breadwinner of his family, a married man with children who depend on him for survival, and that prolonged incarceration of A1 will affect his family adversely.
“In the circumstances, we pray that this honourable court tempers justice with mercy and imposes only the minimum sentence on the accused person,” he prayed.
Friends of the Court
Two lawyers – Bernard Owiredu Donkor and Paul Asibi Abariga, acting as friends of the court, separately made pleas in mitigation.
For lawyer Donkor, Wontumi is no mean person but a very established businessman and his businesses span real estate, media and supply chain.
He said his businesses employ thousands of young Ghanaians and as has been established in the judgment, “he is not only a mere owner of these businesses but the directing mind behind these businesses as well.”
“His presence is very crucial for the success of his businesses which employ thousands of Ghanaian youth.
The collapse or lack of progress in the businesses the accused owns will not only affect him as the owner, but will directly and indirectly affect the thousands of people who depend on his businesses.
The nation is at a critical moment where youth unemployment is very high and therefore if the court is dealing with a person like Mr. Antwi Boasiako whose vision and ideas have led to the establishment of businesses which employ many Ghanaians, in my humble opinion, the court cannot be oblivious to this, and many indeed will be affected should he not find favour with the court today.
“I am therefore pleading with the court to consider this circumstance and impose the barest minimum sanction,” counsel submitted.
Paul Asibi Abariga, while associating himself with the submission made by his colleague, added that considering what has transpired from the start of the trial to date, “it is my prayer that the court will consider the fact that this is an accused person who has been regular and has never absented himself even once.
“We invite you to exercise your overriding discretion in favour of the accused person in handing down the barest minimum sentence so he could come out quickly and reintegrate,” he argued.
Sentence
The court, after listening to the pleas in mitigation, said, “I have listened to counsel for the first and third accused persons’ plea in mitigation.”
The court said it takes note of the gravity of the offence and the need for deterrence to address the environmental devastation that befalls the nation and the illegal exploitation of minerals which are the property of the nation.
“I have also taken note that the accused persons are first offenders and the general pleas made on their behalf; accordingly, I will sentence as follows:
For the charge of assignment of mineral rights without approval, Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to serve a term of 20 years in hard labour, in addition to a fine of 10,000 penalty units (equivalent to GH¢120,000).
He was also sentenced on the charge of purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation to 20 years in hard labour, in addition to 10,000 penalty units. He is to serve three years in default.
His company, Akonta Mining, was also fined 15,000 penalty units (equivalent to GH¢180,000) on each of the two counts to run concurrently.
The trial judge also ordered the state to confiscate all items retrieved from the third accused’s concession to the state, and the Minister shall comply with Section 10 of the Minerals and Mining Act.
EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala reports that, the whole trial lasted nine months and 14 days as they were charged on October 6, 2025.
Brief facts
Per the brief facts of the case, as filed on October 6, signed by the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, the 1st Accused Person (A1), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias WONTUMI, a 49-year-old entrepreneur, is a native of Kuntanase in the Ashanti Region.
On paper, he is one of the two shareholders and one of the two directors of Akonta Mining Company Limited – the 3rd Accused Person (A3).
According to the Charge Sheet, Akonta Mining Company was incorporated on November 5, 2010, with “mining and exploration” as its object and principal business activities.
While Tarkwa is listed as its principal place of business, it operates mainly in the Samreboi area.
The Charge Sheet stated that the 2nd Accused Person (A2), Kwame Antwi, is at large and is listed as the other shareholder and director of Akonta Mining (A3).
Chairman Wontumi stated in both his police charge statement and investigative caution statement that he never saw or heard of Kwame Antwi since 2010 after they completed the company registration and other registration formalities.
Investigations have established that Chairman Wontumi (A1) alone has since exercised absolute control over Akonta Mining Company’s (A3) activities.
Further investigation is ongoing to establish the existence and, if so, the identity of Kwame Antwi (A2).
Items retrieved
As part of the Republic’s fight against the galamsey (illegal mining) menace, the Ghana Police Service embarked on a special operation on April 16, 2025, in the Samreboi area.
At the end of the operation on April 17, 2025, the police arrested Michael Ayisi Gyedu, a 50-year-old native of Samreboi, and 28 others within Akonta Mining Company’s (A3) concession in Samreboi.
During the arrest, the police retrieved the following items: eight pump-action guns, one single-barreled gun, five pieces of metal suspected to be gold concealed in a sachet, four machetes, several water pumping machines, 310 AAA/BB cartridges, one grease gun, four motorcycles, two vehicles, cash amounting to One Hundred and Fifty-seven Thousand Ghana cedis only (GH₵157,000.00), 25 serviceable excavators, and four non-serviceable excavators.
The Charge Sheet added that at the end of the trial, the Republic will pray the Court for a forfeiture order in respect of all items of value retrieved from the concession.
Galamsey activities
Per the charge sheet, upon his arrest, Michael Ayisi Gyedu named another, Henry Okum (a 44-year-old native of Krobo Odumase), as his employer who assigned him to supervise the mining activities on the concession.
Further, Michael Ayisi Gyedu stated that he and his fellow employees, as part of the mining activities on the concession, undertook land reclamation on parts of the concession that had been devastated while mining on the unmined portions of the land.
Henry Okum was subsequently arrested and cautioned. During interrogation, Henry Okum told police investigators under caution that sometime in September 2024, he approached and sought permission from Chairman Wontumi (A1) to undertake mining operations within the concession, which he believed belonged to Chairman Wontumi (A1) at Samreboi.
Investigations have established that Chairman Wontumi (A1) did agree to this proposal and gave Henry Okum permission to carry out mining operations within the concession.
Further investigations have, however, established that A1 allowed Henry Okum to carry out mining activities within A3’s concession without seeking or obtaining the legally mandated approval of the Minister.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
