Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will remain in detention after the Accra High Court adjourns the bail application filed on his behalf.

Chairman Wontumi’s lawyers filed the bail application at the Accra High Court on August 5, 2026, with the motion officially entered on August 6.

The court was scheduled to hear the bail application on Wednesday, August 19, but has adjourned the matter to October 15 after the trial judge was unavailable to sit.

Wontumi and his lead counsel, Samuel Atta Akyea, were also absent from court.

The NPP Director of Legal Affairs, Gary Nimako, was present in court and was subsequently informed by the court clerk that the judge would not be sitting this week.

Wontumi’s sentence

Wontumi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence imposed by the Accra High Court following his conviction on illegal mining-related offences.

His legal team has challenged the conviction and sentence and is seeking bail for him while the appeal process is ongoing.

The bail application is separate from the substantive appeal, as the immediate request before the court is for Wontumi to be released from custody pending the final determination of the appeal.

Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years in prison on each of two counts after the Accra High Court found him guilty in the Akonta Mining illegal mining case on Monday, July 20.

The two prison terms are to run concurrently. Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay convicted Wontumi on Counts One and Four, while Akonta Mining Limited was convicted on Counts Three and Six.

Additionally, he was fined 10,000 penalty units on each count.

Before the verdict, the defence filed a last-minute application seeking to delay the judgment and refer constitutional questions to the Supreme Court.

In April, his bid to halt the ongoing criminal proceedings in the alleged Samreboi illegal mining case was dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay delivered the ruling on Tuesday, April 21.

Last year, the court adjourned two related cases involving Wontumi. In the first case, which concerns allegations that he permitted mining activities on his concession at Samreboi without the required approval, proceedings were adjourned to November 12.

The second case, in which he is accused of conducting mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve without authorisation, was also adjourned to December 4 because the presiding judge was on leave.

The adjournment followed a request by the prosecution to serve the defence with the required disclosures.

Wontumi has been accused of facilitating illegal mining by allowing individuals to operate on the Samreboi concession without the required licence. His lawyer has maintained that there is no evidence to support the illegal mining charges brought against his client.

NPP responds to Wontumi’s sentence

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) strongly criticised the government following the 20-year prison sentence handed to its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, describing the conviction as a “travesty of justice” and insisting that it would challenge the ruling through the appellate process.

In a statement issued after the High Court’s judgment, the party said it respected the authority of the judiciary but could not remain silent in the face of what it believed was a fundamentally flawed decision.

According to the NPP, the prosecution failed to provide evidence to support the offence for which Chairman Wontumi was convicted, arguing that his acquisition of the mineral concession in question was lawful and was never disputed during the trial.

The party claimed that the Mahama administration might seek to portray the conviction as evidence of its commitment to the fight against illegal mining but rejected such a narrative.

“This is no trophy,” the NPP declared, arguing that Ghanaians would question why similar urgency had not been demonstrated in addressing allegations involving individuals linked to the governing party.