Former Vice President and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2028 flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has led a high-powered delegation of party officials to the NPP Ashanti Regional Office in Asokwa for a closed-door meeting following the conviction of the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Dr Bawumia arrived at the meeting on Wednesday, July 22, accompanied by former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Akuapem North MP Sammi Awuku, Effiduase-Asokore MP Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, and several Members of Parliament from the Ashanti Region.
The meeting, which also brought together constituency chairmen, constituency secretaries and party elders in the Ashanti Region, is expected to deliberate on the implications of Chairman Wontumi’s conviction, its impact on the party, and the way forward.
The meeting comes shortly after Dr Bawumia visited Chairman Wontumi at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, where he is serving a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction in the Akonta Mining illegal mining case.
The visit formed part of what the NPP has described as its response to a judgment it considers unjust. The party has maintained that Wontumi’s conviction is politically motivated and has pledged to challenge the ruling through the courts.
Chairman Wontumi was convicted by the High Court in Accra on Monday, July 20, and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on each of two counts, with the sentences to run concurrently. The court also imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units on each count.
Akonta Mining Limited, which stood trial alongside Wontumi, was convicted on two counts and fined 15,000 penalty units.
Before delivering its judgment, the High Court dismissed an application by the defence seeking to refer constitutional issues raised in the case to the Supreme Court for interpretation.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ruled that the application lacked merit and proceeded to deliver judgment.
The NPP has since instructed its legal team, led by Samuel Atta Akyea, to file an appeal against the conviction.
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