Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Wontumi
The hopes of jailed businessman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, hangs in the balance as a High Court in Accra has set November 4, 2026 to decide whether or not to grant him a temporary release from the Nsawam Medium Security Prison as his lawyers take steps to overturn his 20-year jail term.
Chairman Wontumi was convicted and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on July 20, 2026, by the court presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay for mining related offences.
His lawyers have filed a notice of appeal and laid out 19 grounds challenging the decision of the High Court which found him guilty of facilitating others to mine on his company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
Chairman Wontumi was in good spirit as he was brought to the court, sporting a white long sleeve tucked into a black pair of trousers.
There was a large number of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members that thronged the court to show the former Ashanti Regional Chairman support as he awaits the outcome of the court’s decision on the application for bail pending appeal.
Some prominent faces among them included Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh; First Vice Chairman, Kojo Fosu Boadu aka Kojo Bamba and former Member of Parliament of Lawra, Anthony Karbo.
“The conviction proceeded upon grave errors of law which substantially affected the outcome of the trial, and the appeal discloses several exceptional circumstances warranting the exercise of this Honourable Court’s discretion in favour of the Applicant,” a portion of the application for bail pending appeal stated.
Precedent
Moving the motion yesterday, Samuel Atta-Akyea, lead counsel for Chairman Wontumi, relied on a Court of Appeal decision which says a prisoner can be granted bail pending an appeal once exceptional circumstances exist.
The lawyer urged the court to take a closer look at what he described as “other weighty” grounds of appeal in its decision to either grant or refuse the application, pointing out that “the grounds are not fanciful and they have huge prospects of success.”
He also informed the court that Chairman Wontumi is currently facing trial in two other courts and his temporary release will not only aid his legal team in disposing of the appeal, but also in the conduct of those two cases.
Mr. Atta-Akyea further told the court that his client is not a flight risk and his passport is still in the custody of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), noting that “we are not running away to Togo or any other place. He will stay in Ghana and conduct the appeal.”
He added that “this is a fit and proper case to admit Chairman Wontumi to bail, all in the ultimate interest of justice.”
Opposition
The application was opposed by Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, who argued that the motion does not disclose any exceptional circumstance to warrant a bail pending appeal, noting that “those are grounds that every convict would raise.”
He said the authorities are clear that mere dissatisfaction with conviction is not a ground for granting bail pending appeal.
“We have demonstrated that the appeal has absolutely no chance of success and we submit that it will be a very painful experience even to the accused person that he will come out and go back to prison because the grounds of appeal are not substantial,” he argued.
Dr. Srem-Sai also contended that Chairman Wontumi is a flight risk, noting that he is standing trial in two other criminal courts, each of those trials “staring the prisoner in the face with substantial prison terms,” which, as the law prescribes, would be served consecutively instead of concurrently.
“That is a sufficient motivation for any prudent prisoner alone to run away. So, the argument from the other side of the Bar that the prisoner’s previous conduct during this trial should be used as a yardstick to determine the level of risk of flight is dangerous,” Dr. Srem-Sai added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak