Wontumi jailed for 20 years for illegal mining

He is still in court awaiting his sentence while his lawyers are mitigating the sentence Chairmam Wonumi jailed 20 years in Samreboi mining concession case Graphic Online’s Justice Agbenorsi reports that Accra High Court sentenced the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to 20 years in prison in a trial in which he and his company, Akonta Mining Limited, were found guilty on six counts relating to the assignment of mineral rights without ministerial approval and facilitating an unlicensed mining operation.

Relying on the principles on circumstantial evidence set out in Duah v The Republic [1987-88] 1 GLR 343, the court found no reasonable explanation existed to rival the conclusion that Wontumi had knowingly permitted Okoom to mine.

Corporate veil Citing the exceptions in the seminal case of Morkor v Kuma, the court lifted Akonta Mining's corporate veil, finding no functioning management or executive board within the company.