Atta Akyea Flees, No flagbearer, No Executives, No Allies- Only Silence
By TNR FILES
The old saying goes that a man truly discovers he is alone in his hour of trouble, and that even his shadow abandons him in darkness. For Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, better known as Chairman Wontumi, that moment arrived at 10 a.m. Monday in Criminal Court 4 of the Accra High Court.
The man who for years had been the New Patriotic Party’s bull in a china shop its most feared and loathed regional chairman, a political bulldozer who seemed untouchable sat in the dock, visibly trembling. Witnesses said even the chair beneath him shook.
The front row, typically reserved for party stalwarts, remained conspicuously empty. No national executives. No former appointees. No Minority MPs who had once demonstrated in his defense. No Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the party’s 2028 flagbearer.
The only notable party figure in attendance was former presidential spokesperson Palgrave Boakye-Danquah.
For a man who had built his political career on projection of power, the tableau was devastating.
Minutes before Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay was to deliver judgment, Wontumi’s legal team made a final, desperate gambit: another adjournment. They argued that aspects of the case were pending before the Supreme Court, and that lead counsel Samuel Atta Akyea was out of town.
“The law on adjournment is for the convenience of the court and lies within the discretion of the court,” she ruled. “This court cannot grant the request. The application for adjournment is refused.”
With that, the path was cleared. The court convicted Wontumi on all six charges unauthorized assignment of mining rights, facilitating unauthorized mining operations, and related offenses under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703). The sentence: 20 years’ imprisonment, plus a fine of 10,000 penalty units (GH¢120,000).
It was one of the most significant convictions of a high-profile political figure in Ghana’s long-running, often futile battle against illegal mining and a judgment that will reverberate far beyond the courtroom.
The scene stood in sharp contrast to events three years earlier. In January 2023, amid public furor over Akonta Mines and allegations of illegal mining, then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo publicly defended Wontumi’s company. “Akonta Mines is not engaged in illegal mining anywhere in the country,” he declared at an event in Koforidua.
Within hours, the NPP issued an official statement announcing that its leadership, flagbearer and legal team had convened to review the judgment. General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said the party would determine its next steps after examining the ruling, and appealed to supporters to remain calm.
Wontumi’s legal journey had been marked by delays. Weeks earlier, he had changed legal representation, replacing lawyer Andy Appiah-Kubi with Atta Akyea a move critics interpreted as a last-ditch effort to stall proceedings. That gambit, too, had failed.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay noted that the offences carried a statutory sentence of between 15 and 25 years, and settled on 20 years after weighing aggravating and mitigating factors.
The defence had pleaded for the minimum term, citing Wontumi’s cooperation with investigators, remorse and lack of prior convictions.
Prosecutors argued the opposite: that the environmental destruction, the audacity of a senior political figure flouting mining laws, and the need for deterrence demanded severity.
What remains unclear is whether Monday’s judgment will sink Wontumi permanently, or whether he will appeal and perhaps succeed. His legal team has not ruled out further action.
What is already clear is that the political landscape has shifted. A figure who once commanded public defence from a sitting president now sits in a prison cell, his party’s leadership convening not to rally around him, but to assess the political damage.
Outside the courtroom, observers noted the irony: for years, Wontumi had been the NPP’s attack dog, the man willing to say what others would not. In his moment of greatest vulnerability, no one was willing to be seen with him.
“Three years ago, the president of the Republic of Ghana publicly defended him,” one court observer told The New Republic. “Today, not even his party’s regional executives showed up. The man who had everything power, money, political cover has nothing except a 20-year sentence and an empty courtroom.”