The Accra High Court was informed by the investigator in the illegal mining case against NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Wontumi’s Akonta Mining that armed men, led by the former General Manager of Akonta Mining, branded cars, confronted and held Forestry Commission officials hostage until the seized equipment was returned to them.
The investigator is the second witness called by the prosecution in the illegal mining case against Wontumi, Akonta Mining, and two other people.
In the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Western Region, the four are accused of erecting mining structures, aiding illicit mining operations, and engaging in illicit mining in a forest reserve.
They are free on bond after entering a not guilty plea, but the third and fourth accused are still at large.
Chief Inspector Eugene Akpo Glover, the prosecution’s second witness, stated in his testimony that, despite Wontumi’s application for a mining lease to mine in parts of the Tano Nimiri forest reserve, the Lands Minister had not granted any approval at the time Akonta Mining started operating in the area.
The witness added that the claim was validated in November 2022 by checks with the Mineral’s Commission. He confirmed that the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman claimed to have obtained a gazette after Wontumi was invited to the CID headquarters for interrogation, but when questioned further, he was unable to provide the document.
Chief Inspector Glover revealed during cross-examination that after the team took equipment from the concession, a group of heavily armed men led by former Akonta Mining Manager Edward Akuoko held some Forestry Commission officials, journalists, chiefs, and Samartex employees hostage in the company’s branded vehicles.
“As part of my investigations, I uncovered that on August 17, 2022, a team of officials from the Forestry Commission some Chiefs of Samreboi, media personnel and staff of Samartex proceeded to the Tano Nimire Forest Reserve to ascertain whether A1 had indeed entered Compartment 161 of the forest reserve to undertake mining activities.”
“The team passed through four (4) checkpoints illegally mounted in the forest, each with a kiosk bearing A1’s logo. The officials found massive destruction in certain portions of the forest reserve, alongside mining equipment bearing Al’s logos. I wish to tender in evidence pictures of the mining equipment bearing the mark of A 1 found in the forest reserve (Index B series),” he narrated.
“When the workers of A1 sighted the team, they fled the scene, whereupon the Forestry Commission officials seized some of their logistics. On their way out of the forest reserve, the team was accosted by some men armed with assault rifles, shotguns, and machetes who were aboard vehicles branded with A1’s logos.”
“The armed men held the team hostage for several hours and insisted that all the seized items be returned to them. The armed men, led by Edward Akuoko, managed to retrieve the said equipment from the team,” he explained.
However, the witness reacted angrily when Wontumi’s lead attorney, Andy Appiah Kubi, suggested that branded cars from the company did not necessarily indicate that they belonged to Akonta Mining.
The witness disputed with the lawyer’s further suggestion that the equipment discovered in the Tano Nimiri Forest was protective equipment because Akonta Mining was not involved in mining in the forest reserve.
The case has been postponed until June 16 in order to proceed.
Source: newsthemegh.com