Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and Akonta Mining Company Limited have filed a Notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal’s Criminal Division in Accra, challenging their conviction in the Samreboi illegal mining case and asking the court to acquit and discharge them on all counts.
The appeal, filed on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, challenges the entire judgment delivered by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay of the High Court’s Criminal Division 4 on July 20. A second accused person, Kwame Antwi, remains at large and is not part of the appeal.
The appellants argue that the convictions are “unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence adduced at the trial.”
At the heart of the appeal is the argument that the trial judge failed to read the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as a whole. According to the Notice of Appeal, the combined effect of sections 13(8) and 46 of the Act further exonerates the appellants and is consistent with their innocence.
The appellants further assert that the trial judge acted “in flagrant contravention of Article 130(1)(a) and (2) of the Constitution, 1992,” the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in interpreting Article 19(11) of the Constitution as it relates to the Minerals and Mining Act.
They contend that constitutional questions around sections 14(1), 59 and 99(2)(b) of the Act ought to have been referred to the Supreme Court rather than determined by the High Court.
Additional grounds challenge the trial court’s finding that permission granted by Akonta Mining to prosecution witness (PW2), Henry Okum, to undertake reclamation works on the Samreboi concession amounted to an assignment of mineral rights requiring ministerial approval. The appellants argue that granting reclamation permission does not constitute a transfer of mineral rights.
The appeal also faults the trial judge for relying on the uncorroborated testimony of PW2, whom the appellants described as a self-confessed illegal miner whose evidence, as that of an accomplice, required corroboration before it could be relied upon.
The appellants further contest the High Court’s finding that Wontumi was the de facto holder of the mineral rights, despite documentary evidence showing the concession belonged exclusively to Akonta Mining.
They argue the trial judge had no legal basis for lifting the corporate veil of Akonta Mining and treating the company and its director as one in a criminal trial. They additionally described the sentences imposed as harsh and excessive.
The case now heads to the Court of Appeal. Its outcome carries significant implications for Wontumi’s legal standing and his aspiration to become National Chairman of the NPP.