The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused government of using the conviction of its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to divert public attention from more urgent national problems.
The party’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, made the accusation at a press conference on Monday, July 20, hours after the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment over illegal mining on the Samreboi concession in the Western Region.
The court also imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢120,000, with a default three-year term should the fine go unpaid.
Justice Kodua argued that no administration should use criminal prosecutions to manufacture “the appearance of success” while critical national issues remain unresolved, insisting government should instead focus on the country’s most urgent challenges rather than what he called selective prosecutions.
“No Government should attempt to divert public attention from those pressing national concerns through selective prosecutions designed to create the appearance of success,” he said.
He listed those pressing concerns as the continued destruction illegal mining is causing to cocoa farms, farming communities and the environment; what he described as an inadequate government response to recent flooding; and a worsening security climate amid growing terrorism threats in the West African sub-region.
Ghanaians, he said, expect decisive leadership capable of protecting lives and livelihoods and strengthening national security, not politically motivated legal action.
On the verdict itself, Kodua repeated the party’s position that the evidence did not support a conviction, alleging the judge overlooked material that exonerated his client.
“There is no justification for the judgment since the judge obviously ignored clear evidence exonerating Wontumi,” he alleged.
The General Secretary confirmed the party’s legal team has begun challenging the judgment against Chairman Wontumi through the appellate courts, with the appeal expected to contest both the conviction and the sentence.
“Our legal team has already commenced the necessary steps to challenge this judgment through the appellate process,” he said.
He pledged the party’s continued backing for the embattled chairman, describing him as a “political prisoner” and assuring supporters that Wontumi “is not alone” as the case moves through the courts.
