NPP accuses government of using Wontumi conviction to divert attention from national challenges

Addressing a press conference following Chairman Wontumi's conviction and sentencing by the Accra High Court on Monday, July 20, Mr Kodua argued that no government should use criminal prosecutions to create what he called "the appearance of success" while critical issues confronting the country remain unresolved.

The General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, has accused the government of using the conviction of the party's Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, as a distraction from what he described as Ghana's more pressing national challenges.

His comments came after the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years' imprisonment over illegal mining activities on the Samreboi concession in the Western Region.