Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Wontumi’s age of 46 puts him in the bracket of our ‘first-born’, but his net worth of over $100 million dwarfs our own earning of below half of a 100 million old Ghana Cedis (now GH¢ 5,000).
He calls himself a businessman/politician and he owns a goldmining company called ‘Akonta Mining’ which was given a clean bill of health by the President, as not being a ‘galamsey’ site, and a Television station called ‘Wontumi TV’. Wontumi built the first of his 100 houses at the age of 22, after leaving Prempeh College.
For politics, he swears to be NPP by birth and in death. He is currently the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, and, true to his word, he uses his TV station to propagate the policies and programmes of the NPP. In May 2022, Chairman Wontumi won the election to retain the Regional NPP Chairmanship position with 464 votes; his closest rival Odeneho Kwaku Appiah (COKA) getting 306 votes.
To say that Wontumi is vociferous is to state the obvious. He has the ear of the President, and one could say that, that opportunity has ‘gotten into his head’.
Ashanti Region (Preferably Esa-nti Region) is not only the ‘World Bank’ of the NPP; it is also a Kingdom whose inhabitants love their King, known as Asantehene, with the present monarch being Osei Tutu II, in the direct Oyoko Lineage of Osei Tutu I who established the Kingdom. On occasions, the King is carried in a palanquin to demonstrate his power and authority.
Majority of Asantes are stubbornly NPP, tracing their avowed cleavage to National Liberation Movement (NLM) formed by Okyeame Akoto and the United Party (UP) led by Dr. Kofi Abrefa. Asantes resisted the CPP’s effort to subdue them, by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah establishing a ‘one party state’ in 1965, in a referendum which the CPP claimed to have won 99.9%. Dr. Nkrumah threatened to make life bitter for the chiefs of Asante and elsewhere, so that they “would run and leave their sandals behind them,” but the Asantes still supported the National Liberation Movement, and were ready to go to Nsawam – the likes of Baafour Akoto and R.R. Amponsah.
Chieftaincy had seen us through all these centuries of our existence, and in the past, chiefs were the leaders in all facets of life – religious, political, social. The chiefs led the people in all our developmental programmes until we came into constitutional rule. Even under constitutional rule, a place was reserved for chieftaincy.
Article 270 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states: “The institution of chieftaincy, together with its traditional councils as established by customary law and usage, is hereby guaranteed.”
(2) Parliament shall have no power to enact any law that:
(a) confers on any person or authority the right to accord or withdraw recognition to or from a chief for any purpose whatsoever; or
(b) in any way detracts or derogates from the honour and dignity of the institution of chieftaincy.
(3) Nothing in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with, or in contravention of, clause (1) or (2) of this article if the law makes provision for
(a) the determination, in accordance with the appropriate customary law and usage, by a traditional council, a Regional House of Chiefs or the National House of Chiefs or a Chieftaincy Committee of any of them, of the validity of the nomination, election, selection, installation or deposition of a person as a chief
(b) a traditional council or a Regional House of Chief or the National House of Chiefs to establish and operate a procedure for the registration of chiefs and the public notification in the Gazette or otherwise of the status of persons as chiefs in Ghana.”
It is to guarantee the sanctity of chieftaincy that the 1992 Constitution says in Article 276 that: “(1) A chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin.
(2) Notwithstanding clause (1) of this article and paragraph (C) of Clause
(3) of Article 94 of this Constitution, a chief may be appointed to any public office for which he is otherwise qualified.
The Chieftaincy Act, Act 759 of 2008 “makes provision for local government in Ghana and the promotion, conservation and development of customary law…”
When Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was enstooled in Ashanti 25 years ago, he ordered his subjects to withdraw all ‘relevant’ matters from the courts to be settled by Manhyia. He got the appellation: King Solomon.
In Nana Adjei v the Attorney General, (Suit No. J1/8/2008 of July 2011), the Supreme Court, speaking through Dr. Date-Bah JSC
noted: “… In our view, a statutory provision which limited itself to a chief’s call within his or her Traditional Area and provides a defense for a person who is called but has a reasonable excuse not to heed the call, would have a better chance of passing the constitutionality test…” Do not attend the chiefs’ call with a lawyer!
So, Wontumi at an Ashanti Regional vetting of parliamentary candidates/aspirants is alleged to have said: “I have built my own Kingdom. I have my own police and military, and I will speak my mind to Otumfuo if I disagree on an issue with him.”
The Chief of Kokoso, Nana Kwaku Duah, Chairman of the Council of Elders would confront Wontumi that apart from Asantehene, no one in the Ashanti Kingdom owns a Kingdom. This has become a political tussle. Who are we to challenge the NPP executives, led by Justin Kodua (General Secretary), who insists that Wontumi could not answer the chiefs’ call because he is unwell. Hmm.
We thought Wontumi would give an ear to the Kumasi Traditional Council to explain away whether he made those remarks or not; and if he did, upon reflection, whether he is contrite or not. Dr. Amoako Baah, a KNUST lecturer in Political Science on TV3 on January 23, 2024 politically analysed the scenario: Wontumi has money, who cares? His ‘Akonta Mining’ has been ‘cleared’ by the President; as a Regional Chairman, Wontumi would openly endorse one presidential candidate (Bawumia). Who is calling Wontumi to order?
The President and the Presidency do what they want, we pay the price, because as for Ashanti whatever we do, the inhabitants will vote for us – see the President’s reaction to a Ga chief who because of sickness could not stand up when the National Anthem was being played (the President looked away when his daughter was chatting on phone when the National Anthem was being played).
Which country have you seen a President fight his own MPs and stubbornly resists calls to reshuffle his cabinet, and put the Minister of Finance in another Ministry? The President will not listen to anybody, and his cohorts are learning from him.
The market women and the youth from Ashanti have spoken their minds about Wontumi. Mr. Y was a staunch NPP founding member who swears not to go and vote at all; Mr. O says he will drive him to the polling station. Mr. Y: “Will you be by me at the polling booth? Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Respect the views of those of us who have contributed in building the Party.”
By Africanus Owusu Ansah