By Gifty Amofa
Accra, April 24, GNA – The Accra High Court has adjourned the illegal mining trial of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as “Chairman Wontumi,” to April 30, 2026.
Edward Akuoko, General Manager of Akonta Mines and Mr Boasiako’s alleged accomplice turned prosecution witness, will testify on that date.
Akuoko, initially charged alongside Boasiako for various offences, was later re-designated as a prosecution witness after the Attorney General (AG) withdrew the charges against him.
Boasiako, who serves as Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), faces accusations of illegally entering the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve and conducting mining operations without the necessary legal authority.
At the last hearing, the AG called Akuoko as a witness.
However, the Court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, deferred the testimony, as the defence requested additional time to examine newly filed documents.
The prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Prempeh, informed the Court that an additional exhibit, previously omitted, had now been filed.
The request was granted, and the case adjourned to April 30, 2026, for Akuoko’s evidence-in-chief.
Akuoko had initially faced charges, including operating mining activities without a license, aiding the unlawful felling of trees in forest reserves, and assisting in the illegal construction of buildings in the reserve.
However, following the withdrawal of these charges by the AG, he was reclassified as a prosecution witness.
The prosecution earlier informed the Court that Boasiako, his Akonta Mining Company, and two others were implicated in severe environmental damage in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, resulting from illegal mining activities that affected approximately thirteen hectares of land.
The company, though holding a mining licence, was denied permission to operate within the reserve in August 2022, but allegedly went ahead with mining activities.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey