The trial High Court judge presiding over the trial of Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has expressed frustration of the delay tactics of the accused persons.
Wontumi and his company Akonta Mining are facing charges over alleged illegal mining, or galamsey, activities on a Samreboi concession.
The prosecution contends that the mining was conducted without authorisation from the sector minister, in breach of Ghana’s mining laws.
On Thursday, May 7, 2026, the Court presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay for firm dates to be fixed for him to open his defence.
The exercise was, however, met with objections from Wontumi’s counsel, Andy Appiah-Kubi, who rejected all proposed dates made by the Court and requested rather for longer adjournments.
A visibly frustrated Justice Kocuvie-Tay pushed back, asserting the Court’s authority to set its own schedule. This sparked an exchange between the Bench and defence counsel over available dates.
The judge criticised what she described as a pattern where the public blames the Judiciary for delays of cases, while lawyers themselves contribute to the slow pace.
“You say there’s no rush, but you don’t want me to proceed with the case? I have considered all your dates and even shifted my sessions to the afternoon to accommodate you. What more do you want me to do?,” the judge said while addressing Mr. Appiah-Kubi directly.
“When you sit on television and people insult the Judiciary over case delays, don’t sit there quietly. Tell them you are the one contributing to it. The public keeps criticising us for delays, so we are also sitting up,” she added.
For the prosecution, Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai argued that an expeditious trial is a constitutional right of the accused, as recently affirmed by the Supreme Court.
He said the prosecution had made sufficient concessions and was prepared to appear three out of five days a week, in contrast to the defence’s proposal of one sitting per week.
“My Lady, we have accommodated the defence enough. An expeditious trial is even in the accused person’s interest, and we, who bear much of the burden for the rest of the trial, are prepared to conduct our cross-examination according to the Court’s schedule.
“The prosecution’s schedule must also be taken into account. The defence cannot dictate the pace of this trial,” Dr. Srem-Sai submitted.
It is the third consecutive time the Court had had to adjourned the cases since the accused have been ordered to opened their defence on March 16.
Meanwhile, lawyers of the accused indicated that two witness statements have so far been filed with a supplementary one.
The Court has adjourned proceedings to May 14, 2026, for a case management conference and subsequently fix a date for the accused to open their defence.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
