Chairman Wontumi's bail hearing adjourned as lawyers absent

Lawyers for Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) also known as Chairman Wontumi, were absent from court for his bail hearing. The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Edem Srem-Sai, and his legal team were present for the scheduled hearing on July 29.

The case was adjourned to October 15. Antwi-Boasiako is appealing a 20-year prison sentence handed down by the High Court in Accra for facilitating illegal mining activities. His legal team argues the decision was unreasonable and unsupported by evidence, citing misinterpretations of mineral rights law and the court's jurisdiction.

The appeal also challenges the conviction's reliance on a prosecution witness described as a self-confessed illegal miner. Defense counsel contends that circumstantial evidence did not conclusively prove guilt and that exculpatory evidence was disregarded. The appeal further argues that the lifting of the corporate veil to convict a co-appellant was legally unsustainable and that the sentences were excessively harsh.

Antwi-Boasiako was sentenced on July 20, along with Kwame Antwi, a director of Akonta Mining. Kwame Antwi, facing charges related to assigning mineral rights without approval and facilitating unlicensed mining, is currently on the run. The prosecution presented four witnesses in their case against Antwi-Boasiako and Akonta Mining.