Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi
The ‘Criminal Division 4’ of the Law Court Complex in Accra was filled to capacity last Monday when it delivered its judgment in the trial of Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, for permitting others to mine on his company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
By the time the court handed Chairman Wontumi a 20-year jail sentence and a GH¢120,000 fine, there was not a single empty space left in the courtroom.
Lawyers filled the Bar, curious onlookers and the overflow of lawyers filled the gallery while another group of lawyers occupied the chairs provided for accused persons.
Security was unusually tighter than before as police officers patrolled the courtroom and the corridor to ensure nothing untoward happened as the court delivered its judgment in what some describe as a politically charged case.
One moment that caught the attention of many in the courtroom, though, was when two private legal practitioners stepped in to plead on behalf of Chairman Wontumi, urging the court to hand him the barest minimum sentence. None of the lawyers are part of his legal team.
The lawyers stepped in when they realised that Charles Boakye, a seemingly younger lawyer who held the brief of Wontumi’s substantive counsel, Samuel Atta-Akyea, was somehow struggling to convince the court.
Mr. Boakye was able to establish the fact that Wontumi, who at that point had already been convicted, has a family that depended on him and longer sentence would negatively impact on them.
But it appeared his fellow learned colleagues in the courtroom were not convinced with his advocacy, and many of them were seen signalling to each other, while others thought he was not hitting the nail on the head.
That was when Bernard Owiredu Donkor, a private legal practitioner, stood up to address the court as a ‘friend of the court.’
The trial judge, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, noticing the lawyer’s desire to step in urged him to hold on until Mr. Boakye was done with his submission.
By the time Mr. Boakye was done, it was obvious a sizeable number of those in the courtroom were not convinced he was able to persuade the judge to consider a shorter sentence.
Mr. Donkor then got his chance. He said the man before the court “is no mean person but a very established business owner.”
He said Chairman Wontumi’s businesses span across real estate, media and chain supply, and they employ thousands of young Ghanaians.
“As has been established in your judgment, he’s not only a mere owner of these businesses but the directing mind to these businesses as well. His being around is very crucial for the successes of his businesses which employ thousands of Ghanaian youth,” he said.
Mr. Donkor further pointed out that the collapse or lack of progress in Chairman Wontumi’s businesses 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 visions and ideas have led to the establishment of businesses which employ a lot 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,” he advocated.
Mr. Donkor, therefore, pleaded with the court to “consider this circumstance to pass on the barest minimum of sanctions.”
Another lawyer, Paul Asibi Abariga, acting as ‘a friend of the court’, associated himself with his colleague and urged the court to consider the fact that Chairman Wontumi was very regular during the trial and never missed any sitting.
“We invite you to exercise your overriding discretion given to you by the Constitution in favour of the accused person in handing over the barest minimum of sentences so he could come out quickly and reconcile,” he prayed.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay took plea mitigation into consideration and handed Wontumi a 20-year jail term instead of the maximum 25, and fined him GH¢120,000, in default of which he will serve additional three years.
His company, Akonta Mining Limited, was also fined GH¢180,000 for its role in unlawfully assigning the concession to a third party.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak