Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have to wait until October 15, 2026, for the High Court to hear his application for bail pending appeal against his 20-year prison sentence.
The application was filed after Mr Boasiako was convicted and sentenced in connection with an illegal mining case involving Akonta Mining Company Limited. The court’s decision to adjourn the bail application means he will remain in custody while his request is pending.
Wontumi’s lawyers filed the application at the High Court in Accra seeking his release on bail while his appeal against both his conviction and sentence is considered.
The motion was filed by his lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, on August 5, 2026, and was initially scheduled for hearing on August 19. Court records cited by multiple Ghanaian news outlets identified the matter as The Republic v. Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias Wontumi, Kwame Antwi (at large), and Akonta Mining Company Limited, under Suit No. CR/0004/2026.
The court has now deferred consideration of the bail request to October 15.
The application follows a judgment delivered on July 20, 2026, in which Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay convicted Wontumi and Akonta Mining Company Limited on six counts relating to illegal mining activities.
Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and fined GH¢120,000, with an additional three-year prison term in default of payment. Akonta Mining Company Limited was fined GH¢180,000.
The court found Wontumi guilty of offences including assigning mineral rights without the required ministerial approval and facilitating unlicensed mining activities on a concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
Wontumi has challenged the judgment through an appeal. His lawyers are therefore asking the High Court to release him while that appeal is pursued.
The bail application was brought under Section 96(1) of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), and Section 33(1) of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), according to reports citing the filed court documents.
The application is supported by an affidavit setting out the grounds on which Wontumi is seeking bail.
Reports on the application indicate that his legal team considers the appeal to raise substantial questions of law and fact. Those arguments, however, are matters for the appellate process and should not be treated as findings by the court at this stage.
Wontumi will remain in custody pending the October 15 hearing unless the court makes a further order before then.
At the hearing, the High Court will consider the arguments for and against releasing him while his appeal proceeds. The bail application itself does not determine whether his conviction will ultimately be overturned.
