Key Witness Admits No Documentary Evidence Linking Wontumi to Samreboi Mining Concession

Michael Gyedu Ayisi, the first prosecution witness in the criminal trial of Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), has told an Accra High Court that he has no documentary proof to support claims that Wontumi assigned the Samreboi mining concession to Henry Okum.

Testifying under cross-examination  before Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, Ayisi—an artisanal miner and supervisor at the site—admitted his belief stemmed solely from verbal assurances by Okum, not from any deed of assignment or official concession document he had seen.

When defence counsel Andy Appiah-Kubi asked directly if he had ever seen any transfer document from Wontumi to Okum, Ayisi replied plainly: “I have not seen any document.”

Pressed on how he concluded the land belonged to Chairman Wontumi, Ayisi said Okum informed him and took him to the site in Samreboi, Western Region. He added that it was “commonly known” in the area that the land was Wontumi’s, stating, “even a child knows.”

Ayisi further disclosed he had never met Wontumi personally, never seen him at the site, and only knew him from television: “I have only seen him on TV.”

The witness also admitted he lacked formal mining training, learnt the trade “on the job,” and did not know the concession boundaries. He confirmed extracting gold from the site and handing it over to Okum on several occasions but could not specify the value or frequency.

In his adopted witness statement dated October 6, 2025, Ayisi described himself as an administrator and supervisor under Okum, overseeing mining in unmined areas and reclamation with coconut planting in previously mined zones.

Chairman Wontumi, along with two co-accused, faces charges including permitting unauthorised mining on the Samreboi concession, contrary to Ghana’s mining laws. He has pleaded not guilty.

The case continues, with further cross-examination expected as the prosecution builds its evidence.