The Accra High Court has convicted Bernard Antwi-Boasiako and his firm of Illegal mining in his Samreboi concession. According to the court ruling, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has to serve 20 years behind bars.
Prior to issuing the verdict, the court rejected a motion by the defense team requesting a delay in the finding and the referral of certain matters in the case to the Supreme Court for constitutional clarification.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay determined that the motion was unsubstantiated when Chairman Wontumi’s attorneys notified the court that main counsel Samuel Atta Akyea was abroad and anticipated returning on July 22.
Attorney Charles Boakye, representing Mr. Atta Akyea, informed the court that the defense team submitted the motion on July 16, requesting a postponement of the verdict and the referral of certain issues to the Supreme Court.
The court continued with the ruling after dismissing the appeal.
The Attorney-General’s Office made allegations against Chairman Wontumi and Akonta Mining Limited for their mining activities in Samreboi, Western Region.
The state claimed that by facilitating and endorsing unregulated mining activities, or galamsey, inside the concession, they were contravening the Minerals and Mining Act.
