Chairman Wontumi Pleads Not Guilty to Illegal Mining Charges, Granted GH¢15M Bail
Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) known as Chairman Wontumi, and Akonta Mining Company Limited pleaded not guilty to six charges related to illegal mining activities when they appeared before Justice Audrey Kocuvi-Tay at the High Court in Accra on October 7, 2025.
Wontumi was granted bail of GH¢15 million with three sureties—two required to provide landed property proof—along with conditions including passport deposit, a stop list at entry points, monthly reporting to investigators on the first and third Mondays, and Ghana Card deposits from sureties. The case was adjourned for further proceedings.
The charges, filed by the Attorney-General’s Office on October 6, 2025, stem from alleged unauthorized mining in the Aboi and Tano Nimiri Forest Reserves in the Western North Region, violating the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
A state security operation on April 26, 2025, arrested Michael Ayisi Gyedu and 28 others on Akonta’s concession, where Gyedu claimed authorization from Henry Okum to mine unmined sections while reclaiming others.b49cd5
Breakdown of Charges
Assignment of Mineral Rights Without Approval (Wontumi): Allegedly permitted Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi to mine without ministerial consent in 2024 (Sections 14(1) & 99(2)(b), Act 703).
Assignment of Mineral Rights Without Approval (Kwame Antwi, Director): Similar to Count 1.be3ddb
Corporate Liability for Unauthorized Assignment (Akonta Mining): Enabled unlicensed operations in Samreboi, 2024.
Purposely Facilitating Unlicensed Mining (Wontumi): Allowed Okum and Ayisi to mine without licenses (Section 99(2)(b)).
Purposely Facilitating Unlicensed Mining (Kwame Antwi): Similar to Count 4.
Corporate Facilitation of Unlicensed Mining (Akonta Mining): Breached Section 99(2)
Wontumi, who received GH¢1 million police enquiry bail on October 6 after CID questioning, was accompanied by lawyers Andy Appiah-Kubi and Godfred Yeboah Dame.l
Appiah-Kubi maintained innocence: “We are not to maintain innocence, but we are allowed to proceed and then present our defence.” Akonta’s license was revoked in April 2025 for reserve encroachments, despite an off-reserve permit.
Attorney General Dominic Ayine, speaking at Mahama’s October 3 CSO galamsey meeting, had warned of arrest if Wontumi skipped the October 6 CID visit.
CID Director-General Lydia Yaako Donkor confirmed ongoing probes, noting arrests like Wontumi’s partner Akuoko.b7d32d Wontumi, denying galamsey involvement in May 2025, insisted on due process and his large-scale operations.
The case, amid NPP primaries and 600 galamsey prosecutions in 65 dockets, tests anti-mining enforcement.
