Source: Africa Publicity
Ghanaian opposition politician, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal gold mining.
The Accra High Court sentenced Wontumi on Monday, July 20, 2026 for each of the two counts on which he was convicted in the Akonta Mining illegal mining case.
Wontumi is the Ashanti Regional Chairman of Ghana’s main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
His sentences are to run concurrently.
Aside his sentences, the court fined him 10,000 penalty units for each count.
Akonta Mining Limited, which was also convicted on two counts, was fined 15,000 penalty units for each count.
Presiding judge, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay found Wontumi guilty on Counts One and Four, while Akonta Mining Limited was convicted on Counts Three and Six, after ruling that the prosecution had proven all the essential elements of the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
The convictions followed the court’s dismissal of a last-minute application by the defence seeking to delay judgment and refer constitutional questions to the Supreme Court.
The application, filed on July 16, 2026, argued that constitutional issues raised in the defence’s written address required interpretation by the apex court.
However, Justice Kocuvie-Tay held that Section 99(2)(b) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) was clear and unambiguous and did not conflict with Article 19(11) of the 1992 Constitution.
Citing the decision in R v. Mainkankan, the judge indicated that constitutional referrals were only necessary where genuine ambiguity existed.
According to the judge, “The issue raised by counsel is that Parliament ought to have legislated differently. That is not a matter for constitutional interpretation.”
