Minority Declares Wontumi ‘Political Prisoner’

The Parliamentary Minority has launched a blistering attack on the High Court’s conviction of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, describing the judgment as a “miscarriage of justice” and declaring him a “political prisoner.”

In a strongly-worded statement signed by Minority Leader, Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Caucus accused the State of applying justice selectively and vowed to use every constitutional and parliamentary avenue to challenge what it described as a flawed judicial process.

The Minority insisted that its position was not an attempt to shield illegal mining but to defend constitutional rights and the integrity of Ghana’s justice system.

“We support accountability. We support the vigorous prosecution of illegal mining… We do not seek immunity for any person on the basis of political affiliation,” the statement stressed.

However, the Caucus argued that Chairman Wontumi’s conviction was tainted by procedural and constitutional breaches that undermined the legitimacy of the verdict.

At the centre of the Minority’s criticism is the trial court’s decision to deliver judgment in the absence of Chairman Wontumi’s lead counsel, whom it said had informed the court of a prior professional engagement outside the jurisdiction.

According to the statement, the decision violated Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees every accused person the right to legal representation of their choice.

The Minority drew parallels with the trial of former Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Chief Executive Tsatsu Tsikata, arguing that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which had fiercely criticised the handling of that case for years, could not now remain silent over similar concerns.

It noted that Mr. Tsikata’s conviction was eventually overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2016 after the appellate court held that the trial process had occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

“The standard that cleared Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata’s name in 2016 must be applied with equal rigour today,” the statement asserted.

The Minority also accused the High Court of usurping the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court by refusing to refer constitutional questions raised by the defence under Article 130 of the Constitution.

It argued that instead of referring the issues to the apex court for interpretation, the trial judge determined them herself, a move the Caucus described as a wrongful assumption of jurisdiction capable of invalidating the entire proceedings.

The statement cited the Supreme Court’s decision in the Ex Parte Zanetor Rawlings case as authority that trial courts must refer genuine constitutional questions to the Supreme Court rather than deciding them independently.

Beyond the legal arguments, the Minority accused the government of practising selective justice in its fight against illegal mining.

It questioned why investigations into alleged illegal mining involving some National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials, including National Organiser Joseph Yamin and National Vice Chairman Yakubu Abanga, had not resulted in prosecutions despite public announcements by the Attorney-General.

The Caucus also referenced allegations involving the Member of Parliament for PresteaHuni Valley and other reported illegal mining cases, arguing that law enforcement appeared to move faster when opposition figures were involved.

“The machinery of prosecution moves fastest, and lands hardest, when it is pointed at the political opposition,” the statement alleged.

The Minority warned that allowing trial courts to bypass constitutional referral procedures could erode public confidence in the judiciary and weaken constitutional protections for all Ghanaians, regardless of political affiliation.

It called on the Attorney-General to publish the government’s enforcement record on illegal mining across the political divide, urged the Court of Appeal to thoroughly examine the constitutional issues raised in the case, and appealed to the judiciary to reaffirm the proper threshold for referring constitutional questions to the Supreme Court.

Reiterating its support for Chairman Wontumi and his family, the Minority pledged to pursue every lawful avenue to overturn the conviction.

“The Minority will continue to monitor this matter, including any appeal, and will pursue every lawful and constitutional avenue available to us to see that justice is done,” the statement concluded.

The Caucus ended its statement with an emphatic declaration: “Chairman Wontumi is a POLITICAL PRISONER.”

 

 

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