Ken Ashigbey breaks silence on family ties with judge who jailed Chairman Wontumi

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Kenneth Ashigbey, has clarified his position on the sentencing of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.

After Wontumi’s 20-year jail sentence, speculation arose about Ashigbey’s family relations with the presiding judge, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay.

Critics suggested a conflict of interest, citing a petition Ashigbey had previously submitted against Wontumi.

In a statement issued on July 21, 2026, Ashigbey denied any involvement in the ruling: “The July 20, 2026 ruling in the Republic vs Bernard Antwi-Boasiako @ Wontumi, Kwame Antwi (At Large), Akonta Mining Company Limited case has nothing to do with our petition.

“The case we petitioned is still pending before another court. It has not been heard on the merits, and no ruling has been given. To link our pending petition to a ruling in a different case is deliberate mischief calculated to mislead the public.”

He stressed that he had no direct interest in the case, was not a party to it and therefore no conflict of interest existed.

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Ashigbey further cautioned against dragging judges’ names and family ties into propaganda, warning that such actions undermine confidence in Ghana’s justice system.

Addressing claims that he had expressed confidence in Wontumi’s imprisonment because the judge was his sister-in-law, Ashigbey refuted the allegation: “My attention has been drawn to a completely false publication alleging that my relationship with the trial judge influenced the ruling, and attributing to me the statement that ‘I was confident Wontumi will go to jail because the judge is my sister-in-law.’

“I wish to state categorically: I never made that statement. It is false. I have never said, anywhere, at any time, that I was confident Wontumi would go to jail because the judge is my sister-in-law. That quote is a fabrication.”

He urged the public to allow the judiciary to carry out its work without interference or attempts to discredit its decisions.

Chairman Wontumi has been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment after the Criminal Court 4 Division of the High Court found him guilty on all six counts brought against him.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, July 20, 2026, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ordered that the prison terms run concurrently. The court also fined Wontumi 10,000 penalty units on each of the six counts.

Akonta Mining Limited, which was also convicted on two counts, was fined 15,000 penalty units for each count.

The convictions were secured under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 995), which prescribes stiffer penalties for illegal mining-related offences.

Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining Limited, and a third accused person, Kwame Antwi, were prosecuted over alleged illegal mining activities on the company's concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.

According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully assigned mineral rights on the concession without the approval of the sector minister and facilitated mining activities without the required authorisation, contrary to the provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act.



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