Convicted Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has made his first public appearance in court after being jailed and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
His appearance on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, is in connection with the Tano Nimire Forest case, in which he and three others are alleged to have undertaken illegal mining activities in the forest reserve.
He was brought in by officers from the Ghana Prison Service, and was dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt and black trousers, neatly tucked in.
The case has been adjourned to July 31, 2026.
Justice Ruby Aryeetey, the presiding judge, has adjourned the case to July 31, 2026, which is the last day of the 2025/26 legal year.
Aside from the Samreboi case, which has concluded, and the Tano Nimire Forest case, he is also expected back in court for the Exim Bank case, where negotiations have broken down with no agreement reached. In respect of the Exim Bank case, he will be back in court on July 27.
For the Tano Nimire Forest case, Chief Inspector Eugene Akpor Glover, the investigator who is under cross-examination by the defence, as third Prosecution Witness, was present in court.
Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining, Kwame Antwi, and Owusu Bempah have been charged together for undertaking illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Western North Region.
Akonta Mining, as a company, is also facing charges of felling trees in a Forest Reserve without written authority from the competent forest authority and erecting buildings in a Forest Reserve without written authority from the competent forest authority, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Forest Protection Act, 1974 (NRCD 243), as amended by Section 1 of the Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 624).
Chairman Wontumi is personally facing two separate counts of abetting the unauthorised felling of trees in a Forest Reserve, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Forest Protection Act, 1974 (NRCD 243), as amended by Section 1 of the Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 624), and Section 20(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
They have pleaded not guilty and had been granted bail.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
