Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, is a businessman and Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
His defence team finished their case before the Accra High Court on Wednesday, June 3, afternoon, and he will find out his fate on July 3, 2026.
After the defence called Evans Addae, an assembly member for the Samreboi Atigarikrom Electoral Area in the Western Region, as its last witness, the court set the date for the verdict.
Wontumi and his business, Akonta Mining Limited, are on trial for allegedly violating the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) by allowing mining operations on the Samreboi concession without ministerial consent.
The court instructed parties who wanted to submit written addresses at the conclusion of the proceedings to do so by June 17, 2026, at the latest.
In his witness statement, Mr. Addae, who was called as a stand-in for the defense’s last witness, informed the court that while illicit mining had been occurring on the Samreboi concession since 2021 and was still going on, it was not done on the accused’s orders.
The witness presented a pen drive with a May 24, 2026, video footage to bolster his testimony.
Andy Appiah-Kubi, the accused’s attorney, contended that the video demonstrated that illicit mining operations were presently taking place on the concession and that those involved were not following the accused’s directives.
Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney General, objected against the pen drive’s admittance.
He contended that the video’s stamped date rendered it unrelated to the court’s proceedings, which concerned accusations purportedly made in 2025.
“The issues before this court relate to matters that we allege occurred in 2025. The video is therefore of no relevance to the issues in this trial,” he submitted.
Dr. Srem-Sai further contended that the video was self-serving because it was shot when the trial was still pending and that the location shown in the video was unknown.
Mr. Appiah-Kubi responded by citing Section 60(1) of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323) and claiming that the video was pertinent because it supported the witness’s claim that illicit mining operations were still occurring on the concession and that Akonta Mining Limited was not responsible for them.
The pen drive was later brought into evidence by the court, which declared that it would evaluate its value.
During cross-examination, Mr. Addae stated that while he was acquainted with Chairman Wontumi, he had never had direct contact with him.
In addition, he informed the court that he had never seen Chairman Wontumi regarding the Samreboi concession.
When asked if 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 added that he was unsure if Chairman Wontumi had given anyone instructions to work on the concession.
Additionally, he was called out by the prosecution for parts of his witness statement in which he referred to prosecution witness Michael Ayisi Adu as a well-known illegal miner.
Although Mr. Addae acknowledged that he had observed Mr. Adu on the concession multiple times, he acknowledged that he had never reported him to Akonta Mining Limited, the police, or any other authorities.
Mr. Appiah-Kubi declared the defence case closed after the witness’s evidence.
“That will be the end of the case of A1 and A3,” counsel told the court.
The date of the judgement is July 3, 2026.
Source: newsthemegh.com