Accra, July 21, 2026 – The Parliamentary Minority has strongly criticised the High Court judgment convicting the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and Akonta Mining Limited, describing him as a “political prisoner” and arguing that the case raises serious constitutional and legal concerns.
Addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday, the Minority stressed that its statement was not intended as an attack on the judiciary but rather a call for constitutional consistency and equal application of the law.
“We speak not as advocates for one man, but as custodians of a constitutional order that must apply equally to every Ghanaian, regardless of political colour,” the caucus said.
The Minority stated that while it supports accountability and the prosecution of illegal mining, it believes the judgment is affected by four major legal defects that should be examined on appeal. These include the alleged denial of Chairman Wontumi’s counsel of choice, the trial court’s refusal to refer constitutional questions to the Supreme Court, the decision to pierce Akonta Mining Limited’s corporate veil to convict Wontumi personally, and what it described as selective prosecution in illegal mining cases.
According to the caucus, Article 19 of the Constitution guarantees an accused person’s right to legal representation of their choosing. It also argued that constitutional questions arising during the trial should have been referred to the Supreme Court under Article 130, rather than being determined by the High Court.
The Minority further contended that the court’s reasoning on corporate liability could have wider implications for businesses in Ghana, warning that the judgment, if left uncorrected, could undermine established legal principles governing the separate legal identity of companies.
On the issue of selective justice, the caucus questioned the pace of investigations and prosecutions involving other individuals accused of illegal mining, arguing that public confidence in the justice system depends on equal treatment regardless of political affiliation.
The Minority called on the Attorney-General to publish the State’s enforcement record on illegal mining cases, urged the Court of Appeal to carefully review the legal issues raised in the case, and appealed to the Judiciary to reaffirm the constitutional threshold for referring matters to the Supreme Court.
Concluding its statement, the caucus maintained that its position was not an attack on the judiciary but a call for constitutional fidelity and consistency. It argued that history would judge whether Ghana upheld the Constitution equally for all citizens and declared, “We choose everyone. We choose the Constitution.” The statement ended by describing Chairman Wontumi as a “political prisoner.
