Gary Nimako Marfo, the Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the Sedina Tamakloe case has given him hope in the appeal filed by Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
According to Gary Nimako, the reasoning adopted by the Court of Appeal gives him reason to believe Wontumi’s appeal could also succeed after comparing the High Court judgment in Wontumi’s case with the Court of Appeal’s reasoning in the Sedina Tamakloe decision.
He argued that his assessment is based on the legal principles discussed in the Court of Appeal’s decision rather than political considerations.
Gary Nimako suggested that, in his view, there are similarities between the two cases that provide grounds for optimism as Wontumi pursues his appeal.
The Director of Legal Affairs of the NPP is quoted to have said, “This judgment, as it stands, gives me hope in Wontumi’s appeal,” he said on Newsfile on Joy News.
“If you read Wontumi’s judgment at the High Court and the manner with which the conviction took place, and you juxtapose that judgment vis-à-vis this particular judgment, then clearly, I can tell people that Wontumi will succeed on appeal,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Lawyer for the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Chairman Wontumi, Samuel Atta Akyea has disclosed that his client is doing very fine and is in high spirits.
According to Lawyer Atta Akyea, his client has filed an appeal against his 20-year prison sentence, adding that the legal team will also file an application for bail pending the determination of the appeal.
Speaking to the media at the premises of the High Court on July 31, 2026, Atta Akyea stated, “He is very fine and in high spirits. He is also excited that we have lodged an appeal, and we will pursue it”.
“We will bring an application for bail pending appeal, so these are all the options we have, and we will exercise them properly,” he added.
His comments follow 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.
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