‘Wontumi is not a political prisoner but a common criminal’ – Inusah Fuseini

Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has rejected claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is a political prisoner, insisting that his imprisonment followed a lawful court process.

Speaking on NewsFile on Saturday, July 25, 2026, Fuseini argued that Wontumi's conviction had nothing to do with his political beliefs or ideological views but was the result of legal proceedings.

"First of all, let me say that Wontumi is not a political prisoner, and everybody should disabuse his mind of that statement. He is not a political prisoner. He is a common prisoner. He's a common criminal," he said.

Fuseini explained that political prisoners are individuals imprisoned because of their political beliefs or ideological convictions, arguing that Wontumi's case did not meet that definition.

What Kennedy Agyapong said when Wontumi's trial began

"How can you say that somebody who has been held by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated the laws of the country is a political prisoner? What beliefs was he fighting for that sent him to jail? What was his ideological persuasion that was contrary to the existing governance arrangement that sent him to jail?" he questioned.

He further urged political actors to respect the rule of law and avoid mischaracterising criminal convictions as political persecution.

"As a country of laws, and a country that is intent on ensuring there is civility in our engagement and honesty in the way we relate to facts and issues, we should not label a common prisoner as a political prisoner. No, he's not. He's not a political prisoner," Fuseini stated.

The High Court in Accra sentenced the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi to a 20-year jail term for assigning mineral rights granted to his company, Akonta Mining Limited to two persons, Michael Gyedu Ayisi and Henry Okum without obtaining approval from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.

MRA/EB

Majority, Minority chant 'Free Wontumi', 'Bring Ken Back' after 2026 mid year budget review