Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday, July 22, led a delegation of senior officials to visit the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons.
The NPP, which has criticized the judgment, describing it as having no justification, says the visit is part of its response to the sentencing.
The party maintains that Wontumi’s conviction is politically motivated, describing him as a political prisoner.
As leader and flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Bawumia is said to have considered it important to personally visit the Ashanti Regional Chairman to offer encouragement and solidarity.
During the visit, Dr. Bawumia reportedly assessed Wontumi’s condition and assured him that the party would pursue every legal avenue available to challenge the conviction.
According to reports, the convicted Wontumi was in high spirits during the visit, insisting that he had committed no offence. He maintained that he had never engaged in illegal mining and was confident that the courts would eventually clear him of the charges.
The NPP says Mr. Boasiako’s legal team has already prepared a notice of appeal on 20 grounds, with lead counsel Samuel Atta Akyea, who was absent at the time of sentencing, expected to file the appeal in the coming days.
Chairman Wontumi is serving a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction by the High Court on Monday, July 20, in the illegal mining case involving his company, Akonta Mining. The court also imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units on each of the two counts.
Akonta Mining Limited was convicted on two counts and fined 15,000 penalty units.
Before delivering its judgment, the High Court dismissed an application by the defence seeking to refer constitutional issues raised in the case to the Supreme Court for interpretation.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ruled that the application lacked merit and proceeded to deliver judgment.
