'Wontumi's conviction has nothing to do with ORAL' – NPP communicator

A New Patriotic Party (NPP) communicator, Awal Mohammed, has rejected suggestions linking the conviction of Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to the government’s Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative.

His comments follow the decision by the Accra High Court to sentence Chairman Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labour in the Samreboi mining case involving Akonta Mining Company Limited and another accused person, Kwame Antwi.

Mohammed argued that the case was unrelated to ORAL, which he said was established to investigate allegations of wrongdoing involving government appointees.

“Get your facts right. This conviction has absolutely nothing to do with your useless ORAL,” he said in a Facebook post.

According to him, Chairman Wontumi was never a government appointee and therefore did not fall within the category of persons targeted by ORAL.

“Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) was designed to tackle government appointees accused of stealing, and Chairman Wontumi was never an appointee,” he stated.

Mohammed also disputed claims that the former NPP parliamentary candidate was convicted for engaging in illegal mining, arguing that the state’s case was based on activities allegedly carried out by third parties on his concession.

“He was never jailed for engaging in galamsey. In fact, the Deputy Attorney-General explicitly confirmed in court that the state never accused him of mining illegally,” he said.

He maintained that the prosecution failed to establish that Antwi-Boasiako authorised illegal mining activities on the concession.

“The state merely claimed that third parties mined on his site and assumed he authorised it, an allegation they failed to prove with documented or oral evidence,” he added.

The NPP communicator said he expects the Court of Appeal to overturn the judgment, describing the ruling as a miscarriage of justice.

“I have no doubt that the Court of Appeal will quash this clear miscarriage of justice,” he said.

The case followed a police anti-illegal mining operation at the Samreboi concession on April 16 and 17, 2025, which led to the arrest of Michael Ayisi Gyedu and 28 others. Authorities said several items, including excavators, firearms, vehicles, and cash, were recovered during the operation.

The prosecution argued that Antwi-Boasiako, as the owner and controlling director of Akonta Mining Company Limited, allowed mining activities to take place on the concession without the required approval from the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.