Henry Okum, a prosecution witness in the ongoing criminal trial of Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), has told an Accra High Court that he does not hold a small-scale mining licence in his own name and could not produce any documentary evidence of official authorisation for his operations at Samreboi.
Testifying on January 13, 2026, before Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, Okum described himself as a small-scale miner who had been active for about seven years. He claimed he obtained a licence in 2017, but admitted it was issued not in his personal name but in the name of a company he called “C34,” which he said was used for community mining.
When defence counsel Andy Appiah-Kubi pressed him to produce the licence in court, Okum failed to do so. Instead, he referred to a video showing the launch of the company by a minister. Under further questioning, he contradicted himself by conceding: “I did not, in fact, have a mining licence.”
Okum insisted, however, that the presence of government officials at the site constituted official approval. He also acknowledged that small-scale mining licences are restricted to specific locations but was unable to clearly state the exact area his supposed licence permitted him to operate.
The witness claimed he operated at Samreboi under the authority of Akonta Mining Company Limited, which he said held a mining lease over the land. He testified that before moving to the site, he conducted a search at the Minerals Commission and was informed that the concession belonged to Akonta Mining. This, he said, prompted him to approach Chairman Wontumi to seek permission to work on the land.
Okum admitted he was neither a director nor a board member of Akonta Mining but maintained that Chairman Wontumi owned the company. He further told the court that a letter was sent to the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) on Akonta Mining’s letterhead, signed by Chairman Wontumi, to facilitate operations on the site.
“I don’t know Akonta Company, and again, before I went, it was Chairman who went to the operation on the ground for me through REGSEC, and the letter that we wrote to REGSEC had the Akonta Mining letterhead that was signed by Chairman Wontumi,” Okum responded when asked if he was granted permission by Wontumi.
Chairman Wontumi faces charges including permitting unauthorised mining on the Samreboi concession, contrary to Ghana’s mining laws. He has pleaded not guilty.
The trial continues, with further cross-examination expected as the prosecution seeks to establish links between Wontumi, Akonta Mining, and the alleged illegal mining activities.
