Wontumi’s trial: Court to deliver Judgment July 3

Businessman and Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will know his fate on July 3, 2026, after his defence team closed its case before an Accra High Court yesterday.

This was after the defence called its final witness, Evans Addae, an Assembly Member for the Samreboi Atigarikrom Electoral Area in the Western Region.

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).

At the end of proceedings, the court directed parties who wished to file written addresses to do so on or before June 17, 2026.

Final witness

Mr Addae, who was called as a substitute for the defence's final witness, adopted his witness statement and told the court that although illegal mining had been taking place on the Samreboi concession since 2021, and was still ongoing, such activities were not carried out on the instructions of the accused persons.

To support his testimony, the witness tendered a pen drive containing a video recording dated May 24, 2026.

Counsel for the accused persons, Andy Appiah-Kubi, argued that the footage showed that illegal mining activities were currently ongoing on the concession and that the persons engaged in those activities were not operating on the instructions of the accused.

Objection

The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, however, objected to the admission of the pen drive.

He argued that the date embossed on the video made it irrelevant to the matters before the court, which related to allegations said to have occurred in 2025.

"The issues before this court relate to matters that we alleged occurred in 2025.

The video is, therefore, of no relevance to the issues in this trial," Dr Srem-Sai submitted.

He further argued that the video was self-serving because it was recorded during the pendency of the trial, adding that the location captured in the footage had not been established.

In his response, Mr Appiah-Kubi relied on Section 60 (1) of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323), and argued that the footage was relevant because it corroborated the witness's assertion that illegal mining activities were still taking place on the concession and that those activities were not attributable to Akonta Mining Limited.

The court subsequently admitted the pen drive into evidence, stating that it would consider it for what it was worth.

Cross-examination

Under cross-examination, Mr Addae said although he knew Chairman Wontumi, he had never personally interacted with him.

He also told the court that he had never seen Chairman Wontumi on the Samreboi concession.

Asked whether Chairman Wontumi could have visited the concession without his knowledge, the witness replied: "No idea.

I have never seen the first accused person on the Samreboi concession."

The witness also said he did not know whether Chairman Wontumi had instructed anybody to work on the concession.

The prosecution also drew his attention to portions of his witness statement in which he described the prosecution witness, Michael Ayisi Adu, as a well-known illegal miner.

Mr Addae confirmed that he had seen Mr Adu on the concession on several occasions, but admitted that he had never reported him to the police, Akonta Mining Limited, or any other authority.

Following the witness's testimony, Mr Appiah-Kubi announced the closure of the defence case, saying "that will be the end of the case of A1 and A3."