FULL JUDGEMENT Why Wontumi was jailed 20 years for illegal mining in Samreboi

Featured Jul - 21 - 2026 , 05:40 1 minute read The High Court in Accra on Monday sentenced the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi to a 20-year jail term for assigning mineral rights granted to his company, Akonta Mining Limited to two persons, Michael Gyedu Ayisi and Henry Okum without obtaining approval from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.

In a verdict truncating his campaign to elevate himself from a regional chairman to the position of national chairman of the NPP, Wontumi was also handed another 20-year jail term on the charge of purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation on the Samreboi concession in contravention of 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).

The high-profile case had attracted wide media coverage during the over 12 months' trial.