NPP’s Denial On The Wontumi/Akonta Mining Case Collapses Under The Oral Record

I chanced upon contradictory and desperate claims circulating on social media by some communicators and sympathizers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), suggesting that the High Court conviction of Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako (Chairman Wuntumi) in the Akonta Mining Limited case is not part of the ORAL cases.

I wish to state emphatically that this claim is false, misleading, and unsupported by the facts.

It is also important to note that some NPP communicators are engaging in clear double standards. These are the same individuals who have consistently insisted that ORAL is dead, empty, and without substance. Yet, now that the Wuntumi/Akonta matter is being pursued under the very ORAL framework they dismissed, they are attempting to argue otherwise. Such inconsistency is not only politically convenient but also intellectually dishonest.

The facts are clear.

On 10th February 2025, President John Dramani Mahama officially received the ORAL Committee Report, which captured several cases, including matters relating to illegal mining, among them the case involving Akonta Mining Limited. The Presidency subsequently transmitted these cases to the Attorney-General's Office for the commencement of criminal prosecution.

The report covered several suspected corruption, financial, land, and extractive-sector cases, including matters relating to illegal mining and the abuse of state resources.

Government's own ORAL update exposes the NPP's falsehood

More importantly, on 11th May 2026, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, issued the government's official weekly ORAL court update under the headline: “ORAL cases involving Wontumi, Adu Boahene, Skytrain resume this week.”

In that official update, the following cases were specifically listed:

• Republic v Akonta Mining & 3 Others (Nimiri Forest Reserve illegal mining case)
• Republic v Bernard Antwi-Boasiako & 2 Others (Samreboi illegal mining case)

These cases were presented by the Deputy Attorney-General himself as matters being prosecuted under the ORAL initiative. The question, therefore, is simple:

If the Wuntumi and Akonta Mining cases are not ORAL cases, why were they included in the Attorney-General's official ORAL weekly update?

The prosecution is being handled by the Attorney-General

The prosecutions are being conducted by the Attorney-General's Department as part of the government's broader anti-corruption and anti-galamsey drive under ORAL. The charges reportedly involve illegal mining activities, the assignment of mineral rights without the required ministerial approval, and the facilitation of unlicensed mining operations. These are precisely the categories of alleged wrongdoing that ORAL was established to investigate and prosecute.

The NPP cannot redefine ORAL to suit its convenience

The NPP and its communicators cannot claim to understand the tenets, scope, and operational framework of ORAL better than the very proponents of this anti-corruption initiative. We, the NDC understand ORAL far better than those who dismissed it without taking the time to appreciate its objectives, mandate, and investigative architecture.

They are the same people who have consistently argued that ORAL is empty and dead. Today, when the work of the ORAL Committee is producing tangible legal consequences, they are attempting to rewrite the narrative. That position is untenable.

Ghanaians should reject this deception

The NPP cannot run away from the official record. You cannot appear on the government's official ORAL scorecard and suddenly become a “non-ORAL case” when the facts become uncomfortable. This is not a matter of political persecution; it is a matter of accountability through a publicly announced legal and investigative process. Ghanaians deserve honesty, not propaganda. The NPP should therefore prepare itself, because the work of the ORAL Committee is likely to result in more legal outcomes in the coming months as investigations and prosecutions continue.

Pascal Dapilla Dari
Deputy Communications Officer, Kintampo North Constituency NDC
Contact Tel: 0542757642