Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi and Andy Appiah-Kubi
The embattled Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi is still in police custody as he is struggling to meet the terms of the GH¢25 million bail granted him by two separate courts where he is facing trial over offences relating to illegal mining.
Sources have confirmed that Wontumi has not been able to gather all the six sureties demanded by the two courts, in spite of his lawyer telling the court that the accused has persons of substantial means who are willing to stand as sureties for him.
DAILY GUIDE understands that the challenges have to do with the conditions of justification with landed property attached to the terms by both courts, making it difficult for persons to come forward and put their properties on the line for the accused.
It has been three days since a High Court presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay granted Wontumi a bail of GH¢15 million with three sureties, two of whom must be justified ̶ and the other bail granted by Justice Ruby Aryeetey which was set at GH¢10 million with three sureties, one of whom must be justified.
Chairman Wontumi has not been able to meet the terms of the condition set by both courts, and it is not clear when the bail would be executed as his legal team and close associates are making strenuous efforts to get him out of the custody of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.
Trials
Wontumi is facing two separate trials over allegations of undertaking mining without permission from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
The first trial borders on allegations the NPP official permitted other individuals to undertake mining on his Akonta Mining concession at Samreboi in the Western Region without a written approval from the Minister.
The second case involves allegations Wontumi, his company and others unlawfully entered and undertook mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve without legal authority.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was granted a total of GH¢25 million bail by both courts with three sureties.
Wontumi was rearrested after the first proceeding had ended and hauled before another court, where had to wait for about two hours before the case was called.
He is facing a minimum of 15 years in prison and up to 25 years if found guilty on the charges levelled against him.
Facilitating Mining Offence
In the first trial, Wontumi has been charged with one count of assignment of mineral rights without approval, and another count of purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation, contrary to 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).
His company, Akonta Mining and another person identified as Kwame Antwi, who is on the run, have been charged with the same offences.
The prosecution’s brief fact indicates that the police had arrested Michael Ayisi Gyasi, a 50-year-old and 28 others within Akonta Mining’s concession in Samreboi on April 17, 2025, following an operation.
During the arrest, the police retrieved several items, including eight (8) pump action guns, one (1) single-barreled gun, five (5) pieces of metal suspected to be gold concealed in a sachet, four (4) machetes, several water pumping machines, 310 AAA/BB cartridges, and one (1) grease gun.
Others include four (4) motorcycles, two (2) vehicles, 25 serviceable excavators, four (4) non-serviceable excavators and GH¢157,000 cash.
The prosecution says it will pray the court at the end of the trial, for a forfeiture order in respect of all items of value retrieved from the concession.
Forest Reserve ‘Encroachment’
For the second trial, Wontumi, his company and three others have been accused of causing “extreme environmental destruction, including the devastation of approximately 13 hectares of land,” in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve with illegal mining activities.
The facts state that despite his company having licence to mine, its application to mine in the forest reserve was refused in August 2022. That notwithstanding, the company allegedly undertook the mining activities.
“To provide housing for the teeming number of persons working for it, A1 (Akonta Mining) put up several makeshift structures across the Forest Reserve,” the facts allege.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak