BY DANIEL BAMPOE
Former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate for the 2024 general election, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has led a high-powered delegation of senior party officials to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison to visit the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, in a strong show of solidarity following his conviction and 20-year prison sentence in the Samreboi illegal mining case.
The visit comes barely days after the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after convicting him and Akonta Mining Limited on charges relating to the unlawful assignment of mineral rights without the approval of the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources and facilitating unlicensed mining activities on the company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
The High Court found that Chairman Wontumi unlawfully permitted third parties to undertake mining operations on Akonta Mining’s concession without first obtaining the mandatory ministerial approval required under the Minerals and Mining Act.
Although the defence maintained throughout the trial that the concession had been lawfully acquired and that Henry Okoom had only been engaged to undertake land reclamation by planting coconut trees, the court rejected that explanation and held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Following the conviction, the court imposed two concurrent 20-year custodial sentences and fined Chairman Wontumi 10,000 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢120,000, while Akonta Mining Limited was also fined on separate counts.
The judgment immediately triggered widespread political reactions, with the NPP rejecting the verdict and describing it as a “travesty of justice.”
According to sources close to the visiting delegation, Dr. Bawumia travelled to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison on Wednesday in the company of several prominent figures within the opposition party to reassure Chairman Wontumi of the party’s unwavering support as he begins serving his sentence while pursuing an appeal.
Among those who reportedly accompanied the former Vice President were former NPP National Chairman Freddie Blay, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, Sammi Awuku, former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Kumawu MP Ernest Anim, Odotobri MP Tony Mieh, Juaben MP Francis Owusu-Akyaw, Kwadaso MP Professor Kingsley Nyarko, Greater Accra Regional Chairman Divine Otoo Agorhom, Obiri Yeboah, and several other party executives.
Sources at the prison indicated that prison officials received the delegation upon arrival and took them through the standard visitor admission procedures before granting them access to meet Chairman Wontumi.
According to persons familiar with the meeting, Dr. Bawumia used the visit to reassure the imprisoned NPP regional chairman that the party remained fully behind him and was committed to pursuing every available legal avenue to overturn the conviction.
The former Vice President is also understood to have briefed Chairman Wontumi on the progress of the appeal process already initiated by the party’s legal team, led by former Attorney-General Samuel Atta Akyea.
Mr. Atta Akyea has publicly disclosed that the defence has identified more than 20 grounds of appeal on which it intends to challenge both the conviction and the sentence before the Court of Appeal.
Among the issues expected to feature prominently are the alleged denial of a fair hearing, the refusal of the High Court to refer constitutional questions to the Supreme Court, the court’s reliance on circumstantial evidence, and its decision to lift the corporate veil of Akonta Mining Limited.
The NPP has consistently maintained that Chairman Wontumi was convicted despite the prosecution failing to prove that he unlawfully assigned or transferred his mineral rights.
The party has further declared him a “political prisoner” and insists the conviction forms part of what it describes as selective prosecution by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to sources, Chairman Wontumi appeared to be in high spirits during the meeting and expressed confidence that the appellate courts would eventually overturn the High Court’s judgment.
The visit follows earlier remarks by Chairman Wontumi’s campaign manager, George Boahen Oduro, who also visited him at the Nsawam prison and disclosed that although he had begun serving his prison sentence, his determination remained unshaken.
He urged NPP supporters not to lose hope, expressing optimism that developments in the appeal process could alter the outcome of the outco0⁰000
Outside the prison, residents of Nsawam reportedly gathered along sections of the road leading to the correctional facility to witness the arrival and departure of the convoy carrying Dr. Bawumia and the NPP delegation. Some onlookers waved as the convoy exited the prison after the visit.
The prison visit represents the latest in a series of coordinated efforts by the NPP to demonstrate solidarity with Chairman Wontumi following his conviction.
Earlier, the party’s National Executive Committee held an emergency meeting to review the High Court’s judgment, while the Minority Caucus in Parliament staged a symbolic protest by dressing in black and accusing the trial court of committing fundamental legal errors that would be challenged before the Court of Appeal.
