Wontumi Plays Sick In Jail

Days After 20-Year Sentence

By Our Correspondent

Convicted galamsey kingpin and Ashanti Regional NPP chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Chairman Wontumi, is up to his old tricks behind bars this time claiming a sudden diabetic emergency just hours after beginning his 20-year stretch at Nsawam Prison.

But prison sources confirm that as of Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the braggart-turned-convict has not been transferred to any major hospital, raising fresh suspicions that his “shivering” performance on Tuesday was nothing more than another theatrical act to dodge the hard reality of his cell.

Wontumi was rushed to the Nsawam Correctional Diagnostics Center on Tuesday, a day after Justice Kocuvie-Tay handed down the maximum sentence for his environmental crimes.

However, as of Wednesday, July 22, 2026, there has been no emergency transfer to a major medical facility such as Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, which would typically be required in cases of severe diabetic complications like Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) or dangerously low blood sugar (Hypoglycemia).

This is not the first time the convicted illegal miner has raised health concerns. In June 2025, when Wontumi was remanded in custody, his spokesperson Paul Yandoh claimed the NPP stalwart was suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, which allegedly flared up during his detention. That claim was later found to be false.

The timing of the latest health declaration has raised suspicions among observers, coming just a day after the Accra High Court handed down the maximum sentence for environmental crimes on Monday, July 20, 2026.

Justice Kocuvie-Tay, the presiding judge, delivered the judgment after dismissing what court officials described as multiple delaying tactics by the convict.

The court had initially scheduled judgment for June 2026, but Wontumi’s sudden change of legal representation replacing Andy Appiah-Kubi with Samuel Atta Akyea caused a nearly month-long postponement.

When the court reconvened on July 20, 2026, Wontumi announced that his new lawyer, Atta Akyea, had traveled outside the jurisdiction after filing an application before the Supreme Court. The presiding judge, however, proceeded with delivering the sentence, describing the multiple postponement requests as an abuse of court process.

Following the sentencing, the NPP has issued statements condemning the judgment, with party officials warning that a future NPP administration would pursue similar legal action against members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). In what party insiders described as a direct threat, NPP officials stated that “tomorrow is pregnant” with implications for their political opponents.

The NDC has dismissed these threats, maintaining that the judicial process was properly followed in the conviction and sentencing of Wontumi.