Wontumi admitted at Nsawam prison yesterday around 4PM — Campaign Manager
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is in good health and adapting well to life at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, his campaign manager, George Boahen Oduro, has said.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, July 21, Mr Oduro said he was part of a five-member delegation that visited Chairman Wontumi at the prison after he was admitted on Monday evening to begin serving his sentence.
According to him, although prison authorities were still carrying out the mandatory admission and profiling procedures for newly admitted inmates, Wontumi had settled in and was in good condition.
“This morning we paid him a visit and as I speak to you now, he has started serving his sentence. He was admitted yesterday around 4 p.m. and he is at Nsawam as we speak,” Mr Oduro said.
He commended officers of the Ghana Prisons Service for their professionalism, describing them as courteous and respectful while carrying out the required admission procedures.
Mr Oduro explained that the delegation was initially unable to see Chairman Wontumi because he was undergoing routine profiling, documentation and other formal admission processes.
However, after informing prison officials that they had brought personal belongings for him, Wontumi's younger brother was granted access to deliver the items.
According to Mr Oduro, Wontumi's brother later confirmed that the NPP chairman was in good spirits.
“He said he is very well. He's okay and everything is fine,” he stated.
Mr Oduro clarified that the temporary restriction on access was solely due to the admission process and should not be interpreted as a denial of visitation rights.
He added that prison authorities had asked the delegation to return on Wednesday when the profiling process would have been completed and Chairman Wontumi would be available to receive regular visitors.
Chairman Wontumi was sentenced by the High Court in Accra on Monday to 20 years' imprisonment over his role in the Akonta Mining illegal mining case.
In addition to the custodial sentence, he was fined 10,000 penalty units on each count on which he was convicted. Akonta Mining Limited, which was also convicted on two counts, was fined 15,000 penalty units for each offence.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay convicted Chairman Wontumi on Counts One and Four and found Akonta Mining Limited guilty on Counts Three and Six after ruling that the prosecution had proved the essential elements of the offences beyond reasonable doubt.