By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been charged alongside two others in connection with illegal mining activities allegedly carried out by Akonta Mining Limited.
The accused have been slapped with six counts, including assigning a mining concession without prior written approval from the minister and facilitating unlicensed mining operations.
The two other parties involved are Kwame Antwi, currently at large and described as a co-owner and director of Akonta Mining, and Akonta Mining Limited itself.
The charges stem from activities carried out by the company in Samreboi, located in the Western Region.
According to the facts in the charge sheet, an operation by state security on April 26, 2025, led to the arrest of Michael Ayisi Gyedu and 28 others engaged in mining on the Akonta Mining concession.
During interrogation, Mr. Gyedu is said to have claimed that he was authorized by one Henry Okum to supervise mining activities on the land, which Okum claimed was under his control.
Mr. Gyedu further stated that while he and his team conducted reclamation on a previously mined portion of the land, they were actively mining on an unmined section of the concession.
The state alleges that Henry Okum, during interrogation, admitted to seeking and receiving permission from Chairman Wontumi to conduct mining operations within the Samreboi concession—believing it belonged to the Chairman.
Investigators claim that Chairman Wontumi granted this permission without first obtaining the legally required approval from the minister responsible for mining, as mandated by law.
During the operation, authorities retrieved several items from the concession, including:
Eight (8) pump-action guns
One (1) single-barreled gun
Five (5) metal pieces suspected to be gold, concealed in a sachet
Four (4) machetes
Several water-pumping machines
310 AAA/BB cartridges
One (1) grease gun
Four (4) motorcycles
Two (2) vehicles
Cash totaling GHS 157,000
Twenty-five (25) serviceable excavators
Four (4) non-serviceable excavators
The prosecution has indicated that at the close of the trial, it will petition the court to issue a forfeiture order for all valuable items recovered from the site.
