Chairman Wontumi
Source: Africa Publicity
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of Ghana’s main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Bosiako, well-known as Chairman Wontumi, has been charged together with two other individuals for alleged illegal gold mining activities popularly known as galamsey in Ghana.Â
The trio were charged on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 in connection with alleged illegal mining activities allegedly carried out by Akonta Mining Limited.
Chairman Wontumi and the two others were hit with six counts, including assigning a mining concession without prior written approval from the Minister and facilitating unlicensed mining operations.
The two other accused are Kwame Antwi, who according to law enforcement officials, is said to be currently at large and described as a co-owner and director of Akonta Mining, and Akonta Mining Limited itself.
The charges stem from activities carried out by the company in Samreboi, located in the Western Region.
Facts in the charge sheet revealed that an operation by state security on April 26, 2025, led to the arrest of Michael Ayisi Gyedu and 28 others engaged in mining on the Akonta Mining concession.
During interrogation, Gyedu reportedly claimed that he was authorized by one Henry Okum to supervise mining activities on the land, which Okum claimed was under his control.
Gyedu said while he and his team conducted reclamation on a previously mined portion of the land, they were actively mining on an unmined section of the concession.
Chairman Wontumi’s Role
State prosecutors have alleged that Henry Okum, during interrogation, admitted to seeking and receiving permission from Chairman Wontumi to conduct mining operations within the Samreboi concession—believing it belonged to the Chairman.
Investigators claim that Chairman Wontumi granted this permission without first obtaining the legally required approval from the Minister responsible for mining, as mandated by law.
Seized Items
During the operation, authorities retrieved several items from the concession, including:
Eight pump-action guns
One single-barreled gun
Five metal pieces suspected to be gold, concealed in a sachet
Four machetes
Several water pumping machines
310 AAA/BB cartridges
One grease gun
Four motorcycles
Two vehicles
Cash totaling GHS 157,000
Twenty-five serviceable excavators
Four non-serviceable excavators
