The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region has announced plans to mobilise supporters for a large-scale visit to its Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, at Nsawam Prison following his conviction.
The party says the visit is intended to reassure Wontumi of its continued support while legal efforts are pursued to overturn the High Court’s ruling.
Acting Ashanti Regional Chairman, Patrick Acheampong, said the party remains firmly behind its chairman. “We will organise buses and pay a visit to the party chairman. From there, we will come to our office and hold a vigil. We will show our loyalty to the chairman,” he stated.
The announcement came after a closed-door meeting between party leaders and the NPP’s 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labour by an Accra High Court after being convicted of illegally allowing unlicensed mining activities on his company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
The Ashanti NPP insists the conviction reflects unfair treatment by the government and the judicial system. Patrick Acheampong said, “The news of his conviction did not come to us as anything strange because of issues that occurred in the course of the trial.”
He pointed to concerns raised during the proceedings, including the withdrawal of Wontumi’s lawyer over alleged judicial bias and the court’s refusal to refer constitutional issues to the Supreme Court as requested by the defence.
“In such circumstances, the verdict should not be surprising to anybody,” he added. Mr Acheampong further argued that if the government is genuinely committed to tackling illegal mining, all individuals involved must be prosecuted equally, regardless of political affiliation. He urged authorities to uphold the rule of law fairly and called on party supporters to remain calm, united and resolute as the appeal process continues.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar