The Accra High Court has just sentenced NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for illegal mining.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay handed down the sentence moments after convicting him and his company, Akonta Mining Company Limited, on all 6 counts of assigning mineral rights without ministerial approval and purposefully facilitating unlawful mining at Samreboi.
The Sentence:
Despite passionate pleas for mitigation from his lawyers led by Andy Appiah-Kubi, who argued that Wontumi is a first-time offender and asked for the minimum 15-year sentence, the Judge imposed 20 years.
The court had earlier dismissed a motion for deferment as incompetent and moot.
In her judgment, Justice Kocuvie-Tay held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Wontumi permitted PW2 and others to mine on his concession without approval, relying heavily on his own witness statement and the unchallenged testimony of PW1 that he used proceeds from mining for reclamation.
The court said that act amounted to facilitating unlawful mining under Act 703 as amended by Act 995.
Chairman Wontumi will serve his sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison. His company, Akonta Mining, has also been convicted and is expected to face fines and confiscation orders.
Lawyers for Wontumi say they will appeal the conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal.