Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by the Accra High Court for illegal mining-related offences.
The judgment was delivered on Monday by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay after the court found Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining Limited, guilty on six counts, including assigning mineral rights without the approval of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and facilitating unlicensed mining operations.
According to proceedings, the court held that Wontumi and Akonta Mining unlawfully allowed Henry Okoom and Michael Gyedu Ayisi to undertake mining activities on the company’s concession without obtaining the mandatory ministerial approval.
In addition to the 20-year custodial sentence, the court fined Wontumi GH¢120,000, with a default sentence of three years’ imprisonment. Akonta Mining Limited was also fined GH¢180,000 on two counts.
The court relied largely on circumstantial evidence, noting that the defence never disputed the absence of ministerial approval for the assignment of mineral rights.
“The absence of ministerial approval was never contested by the defence,” the court observed, describing the admission as implicit because no application for approval had been submitted by the company.
During the trial, Wontumi testified that he had only authorised Henry Okoom to reclaim degraded land by planting coconut trees and not to engage in mining. He further claimed he was unaware that Okoom was a small-scale miner, insisting that Okoom had presented himself as a mine support service provider.
The court rejected that explanation, ruling that Wontumi failed to provide any evidence to support Okoom’s alleged reclamation expertise.
The judge also accepted Okoom’s unchallenged testimony that he mined unworked sections of the concession to recover costs after Wontumi allegedly failed to provide funds for the reclamation project.
Applying the principles on circumstantial evidence established in Duah v Republic [1987-88] 1 GLR 343, the court concluded that there was no reasonable alternative explanation other than that Wontumi knowingly permitted the illegal mining activities.
It further dismissed Wontumi’s claim that Okoom was expected to recover his investment from the future sale of mature coconut trees, describing the explanation as an afterthought.
The court also lifted the corporate veil of Akonta Mining Limited, citing the exceptions established in Morkor v Kuma. It found that the company lacked a functioning management or executive board and that Wontumi exercised complete control over its operations.
“The corporate veil should be lifted, as there is no real difference between Chairman Wontumi and Akonta Mining in relation to the persons permitted to mine. There was no functioning management board or executive management board. All acts were done by Chairman Wontumi, the true de facto holder of the mineral right,” Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ruled.
Before sentencing, several defence lawyers pleaded with the court to impose the minimum punishment, urging the judge to consider mitigating factors. However, the court proceeded to impose the 20-year prison sentence, together with the financial penalties against both Wontumi and his company.
SOURCE: Newscenta