The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, commonly known as Chairman Wontumi, and Akonta Mining Company Limited have filed an appeal against their sentences in the Samreboi illegal mining case.
Wontumi is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court’s judgment and acquit and discharge them on all four counts.
Chairman Wontumi’s notice of appeal, filed on Tuesday, July 28, challenges the entire judgment delivered by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay of the High Court’s Criminal Division 4 on July 20.
He is being represented by Samuel Atta Akyea; the appellants argue that the convictions are unreasonable and unsupported by the evidence presented during the trial.
According to them, the trial judge misinterpreted key provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended, and failed to consider the combined effect of sections 13(8) and 46 of the Act, which they say cleared them.
“Take Notice that the 1st and 3rd Accused persons/Appellants (“Appellants”) herein, who are dissatisfied with the judgment of the High Court (Criminal Division ‘4’), Accra, presided over by Her Ladyship Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, J., dated the 20th day of July 2026, do hereby appeal to the Court of Appeal upon the grounds set out in paragraph 3 hereof and will, at the hearing of the appeal, seek the reliefs set out in paragraph 4. And the 1st and 3rd Appellants further state that the names and addresses of the persons directly affected by the appeal are set out in paragraph 6,” part of the court document, which was dated July 28, 2026, read.
“GROUNDS OF APPEAL
a. The convictions are unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence adduced at the trial.
b. The learned trial judge did not read the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended, as a whole. The combined effect of sections 13(8) and 46 of the said Act is exculpatory of the 1st and 3rd Appellants and consistent with their innocence.
c. The learned trial Judge usurped the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in flagrant contravention of Article 130(1)(a) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution in interpreting Article 19 of the Constitution against sections 14(1), 59 and 99(2)(b) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended, and section 3 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2019 (Act 995), as clear, when both parties have rival meanings of the words ‘unless the offence is defined…. in a written law’,” the document further stated.
However, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, has disclosed that there is no proper basis for an appeal against Chairman Wontumi’s conviction and 20-year sentence.
According to the Deputy Attorney-General, he does not think any appeal against Wontumi’s conviction and 20-year sentence will succeed.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, Justice Srem Sai stated, “We don’t think there is any proper basis for anyone to appeal this decision. I don’t think any appeal will succeed against this case”.
Meanwhile, Chairman Wontumi has apologised to President John Dramani Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama.
Chairman Wontumi’s apology stems from his disparaging remarks he made about John Mahama and his wife during the 2024 campaign season ahead of the 2024 general election.
According to Wontumi’s spokesperson, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, Wontumi offered the apology as a gesture of goodwill and appealed to President Mahama to consider granting him clemency.
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, however, argued that the apology should not be interpreted as an admission that political differences between Wontumi and President Mahama influenced the legal proceedings.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah stated, “The first call is to render an apology, and I think that is important. Former Chairman renders an apology to him if, at some stage, the conversations went overboard, which was never intended”.
“Not at all. We are aware that in this country there are influences. If you are able to identify those influences and begin making amends, I think we build a better society for all of us to live in,” he stated.
According to Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, the appeal for forgiveness was aimed at promoting reconciliation.
The apology comes as Wontumi serves a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction for illegal mining activities in the Samreboi Forest.
See the notice of appeal filed below:
@ghnow_ A man who had recently returned from the United States was apprehended in Breman Asikuma in the Central Region after allegedly shooting a resident and attempting to flee the community. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “The land system in Ghana is problem, we can’t take the land from the Chiefs” – Hon Ahmed Ibrahim #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
