Chairman Wontumi’s 20-year sentence is a clear case of selective justice — Adomako-Mensah

The Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North, Collins Adomako-Mensah, has described the 20-year prison sentence handed to Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, as a case of selective justice.

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.

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 Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show on Wednesday, July 22, the Afigya Kwabre North lawmaker questioned why other individuals accused of involvement in illegal mining activities had not faced similar legal action.

"I’m surprised you’re even asking me whether it’s a case of selective justice. Is it not clear to everybody? The President himself is saying that his people are involved in galamsey. Nobody has been prosecuted," he said.

Adomako-Mensah said the NPP believes there are grounds to challenge aspects of the judgment and maintained that disagreeing with a court decision does not amount to undermining the judiciary.

He added that the party’s decision to appeal the ruling was part of the legal process, which provides an opportunity to review the basis of the judgment.

"We can disagree with the courts. If you have a right, yes, and that is why we are going to an appeal. Any appeal is a critique of the previous judgments," he stated.

The MP further argued that the concerns raised by the NPP go beyond the sentence itself and include questions about the consistency of law enforcement in dealing with illegal mining-related offences.