Wontumi denies authorising mining on Akonta Concession, claims arrangement was for reclamation
Ashanti Regional New Patriotic Party Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, has taken the witness stand in his own defence at the High Court in Accra, firmly denying that he granted anyone permission to mine on Akonta Mining’s concession.
Testifying on Thursday, May 21, Wontumi insisted that the arrangement he entered into with prosecution witness Henry Okum, referred to in court as PW2, was solely for land reclamation and coconut planting, and had nothing to do with mineral extraction.
“I didn’t give him permission to mine. He came to reclaim the land and plant coconut trees so that when the coconuts mature, we would share,” he told the court.
Wontumi is standing trial alongside Akonta Mining on charges that include assigning mineral rights without ministerial approval.
His defence opened after the prosecution closed its case, with two witnesses — mining expert Wisdom Gomashie and former Deputy Lands Minister George Mireku Duker — having already testified on his behalf.
Under cross-examination by Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem Sai, Wontumi acknowledged granting PW2 access to the concession but maintained the purpose was reclamation rather than mining.
He also denied assisting PW2 in acquiring excavators or any earth-moving equipment, describing the prosecution’s claims to that effect as untrue.
The prosecution argued that Wontumi knowingly permitted mining activities on the concession while deliberately keeping his distance from the site to avoid direct association with the operations.
It further suggested his business model involved acquiring mining leases and allowing others to conduct illegal mining in exchange for a share of proceeds — arrangements commonly described in illegal mining circles as “goodwill” or “percentage.” Wontumi dismissed the allegation as a “blatant falsehood.”
Central to the prosecution’s case is PW2’s earlier testimony, in which Okum told the court that Wontumi agreed to allow him to mine portions of the concession, with proceeds from the mining used to finance reclamation works rather than direct funding from Wontumi himself.
In her earlier ruling directing Wontumi to open his defence, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay said the absence of direct funding for reclamation lent weight to PW2’s account, questioning how PW2 was expected to finance the reclamation exercise if no money had been provided for that purpose.
During Thursday’s hearing, Wontumi also acknowledged that no written agreement existed between himself and PW2 to document the reclamation arrangement, and that he never personally visited the site after granting access.
He claimed, however, that PW2 sent him videos showing the planting of approximately 18,000 coconut trees as evidence of the reclamation work.
The trial continues.
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