Some people in NPP are secretly happy about Wontumi's 20-year sentence — Solomon Owusu

The National Communications Director of the United Party (UP), Solomon Owusu, has claimed that some members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are privately pleased with the 20-year prison sentence handed to the party's Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.

Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining Company Limited and the second accused, Kwame Antwi, who remains at large, were convicted on six counts relating to the unlawful assignment of mineral rights and purposely facilitating unlicensed mining operations within Akonta Mining's concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.

The prosecution said Wontumi, as owner and controlling director of Akonta Mining, allowed Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi to undertake mining activities within the company's concession in 2024 without obtaining the mandatory written approval of the Minister responsible for mining, contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act.

An Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie Tay, on Monday, July 20, sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units, with an additional three-year custodial sentence in default of payment.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3's New Day programme on Wednesday, July 22, Mr. Owusu cited alleged internal divisions within the NPP to buttress his point that some party members were quietly satisfied with the outcome of the case, despite the party's public condemnation of the judgment.

"A lot of them are happy. I know them; they are friends. They will not come out to say it publicly, but a lot of them are happy," he claimed.

He also cited Chairman alleged Wontumi's strained relationship with some leading figures in the NPP, including General Secretary Justin Koduah Frimpong.

The UP spokesperson further rejected claims that the convicted NPP stalwart was not cited for involvement in illegal mining, arguing that the court's judgment clearly linked the offences to illegal mining activities.

"The court takes notice of the gravity of the offences and the need for deterrence to avert the environmental disaster that might befall the nation. The conduct of the accused persons undermines the regulatory framework for the mining sector and contributes to the environmental degradation associated with illegal mining," he quoted from the judgment.