Andy Appiah-Kubi 'steps away' and seeks leave to withdraw as counsel for Wontumi, Akonta Mining
Lawyer for the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and Akonta Mining Limited, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has filed an application at the High Court in Accra seeking leave to withdraw his legal services to his clients.
The motion, which is expected to be moved on June 15, 2026, seeks an order of the court permitting him to cease acting for the first and third accused persons in an ongoing criminal trial before the court.
In an affidavit in support of the application, Mr Appiah-Kubi said he had represented the accused persons since October 2025 and had undertaken various legal processes on their behalf throughout the trial.
He explained that during the proceedings, he filed an application seeking an order directing the prosecution to produce copies of an alleged deed of assignment between the accused persons and two miners, Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi, but the application was dismissed.
He said after the prosecution closed its case, he also filed a submission of no case to answer on behalf of his clients, which was similarly dismissed, leading to an order for the accused persons to open their defence.
Reasons
Mr Appiah-Kubi said following the ruling, an appeal and an application for stay of proceedings were filed.
He said despite those processes, the court directed parties to file their final written addresses by June 17, 2026.
The lawyer further cited disagreements over procedural decisions during the proceedings.
“It is on record that there have been serious disagreements even in decisions on procedural matters, sometimes ending in mistrust between prosecution, defence and the bench,” he stated in the affidavit.
Mr Appiah-Kubi said he had become disappointed by some of the decisions of the court and did not want those feelings to affect his professional obligations to his clients.
“I do not want my disappointment in the decisions of the court to affect my fortunes and that of my clients,” he stated.
He added that the situation had affected the emotional and psychological balance required for the task ahead and that, in his view, the interests of his clients would be better served if other professionals took over the conduct of the case.
Mr Appiah-Kubi therefore prayed the court to grant him leave to withdraw his legal services to the accused persons.
Judgment date
The application comes weeks before the High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, is expected to deliver judgment in the criminal trial on July 3, 2026.
The date was fixed after the defence closed its case on June 3 following the testimony of its final witness, Evans Addae, an Assembly Member for the Samreboi Atigarikrom Electoral Area.
The court subsequently directed parties who intended to file written addresses to do so on or before June 17, 2026.
Charges
Chairman Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining Limited, are standing trial over allegations of facilitating mining activities on the Samreboi concession without ministerial approval, contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to all the charges and have maintained throughout the trial that they neither assigned any mineral rights nor authorised any unlawful mining activity on the concession.
