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Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Ghanaian press · Organization

Akonta Mining

Also known as: Akonta Mining Company Ltd

Akonta Mining — mining company owned by NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, convicted of illegal mining at Samreboi in the Western Region.

2026-05-072026-07-21
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In coverage

Verbatim sentences from the source article.

  1. July 2026

  2. The Ghanaian Times

    … The Office of the Attorney General preferred criminal charges against three accused persons — Antwi-Boasiako, a shareholder of Akonta Mining, and Kwame Antwi, a director of the company. …

    Chairman Wontumi seeks Supreme Court interpretation of provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act
  3. June 2026

  4. Joy Online

    … Chairman Wontumi is standing trial in connection with allegations arising from the operations of Akonta Mining, a company linked to him, over alleged illegal mining activities in the Samreboi area of the Western North Region. …

    High Court sets July 20 for judgment in Wontumi mining trial

  5. The Chronicle

    … Background The application followed Appiah-Kubi’s public announcement that he intended to withdraw from representing Chairman Wontumi in the criminal prosecution involving alleged illegal mining activities linked to Akonta Mining. …

    High Court dismisses Wontumi lawyer’s application

  6. NPP chairman Wontumi seeks plea deal in bank fraud case

    1. Joy Online

      … Judgment in the mining case, in which Wontumi and his company Akonta Mining are accused of facilitating unlicensed operations on a concession at Samreboi, is due on July 3. …

      Twice in a year, Chairman Wontumi’s lead lawyer has walked away

    2. Joy Online

      … The mining cases The two older cases revolve around Akonta Mining, a company Wontumi controls. …

      Where things stand for Chairman Wontumi: Three cases, a looming mining verdict, a plea deal in play
  7. May 2026

  8. The Chronicle

    … Wontumi further denied any involvement in illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey, insisting he neither authorised nor participated in such operations on the concession belonging to Akonta Mining Company Ltd, where he serves as a director. …

    Wontumi Tells Court: Those Who Claimed Ownership Of Seized Items Have Been Turned Into Prosecution Witnesses

  9. Joy Online

    The NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, has denied allegations that he authorised prosecution witness Henry Okum to undertake mining activities on Akonta Mining’s concession. …

    Wontumi denies authorising illegal mining on Akonta concession

  10. Joy Online

    … This distinction appears to form a central pillar of the defence strategy in the ongoing criminal proceedings involving the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, and his company, Akonta Mining. …

    Wontumi Trial: Ex Deputy Lands Minister says concessionaires were encouraged to reclaim degraded mining lands

  11. The Ghanaian Times

    … According to him, witness statements have already been prepared for Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining, Engineer Gomashi, and Mireku Duker. …

    Chairman Wontumi’s Samreboi case adjourned to May 14 after case management hearing
Politics

Lawyer: Wontumi's mining defence collapsed under court scrutiny

The News

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu said NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako's 20-year prison sentence for illegal mining offences in the Samreboi concession case was driven by the weakness of his own defence. Kpebu argued that Akonta Mining, the company linked to Wontumi, held the concession, making him responsible for unauthorised mining activities carried out there.

10 hours ago · Joy Online →

Today

  1. Lawyer: Wontumi's mining defence collapsed under court scrutiny

    Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu said NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako's 20-year prison sentence for illegal mining offences in the Samreboi concession case was driven by the weakness of his own defence. Kpebu argued that Akonta Mining, the company linked to Wontumi, held the concession, making him responsible for unauthorised mining activities carried out there.

    10 hours ago · Joy Online →

  2. Kpebu: Wontumi conviction driven by weak defence, not technicality

    Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu said NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako's conviction on illegal mining charges was caused by the weakness of his own defence, calling his reclamation-work explanation a "cock-and-bull story" that did not withstand court evidence. Kpebu argued that as directing mind of Akonta Mining, which held the Samreboi concession, Wontumi was responsible for mining activities there and had admitted to allowing operations without ministerial approval.

    10 hours ago · Joy Online →

  3. Media Coalition calls for wider galamsey prosecutions beyond Wontumi case

    The Media Coalition Against Galamsey says the conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako should be followed by prosecution of all persons implicated in illegal mining, including politically exposed persons and financiers, regardless of political affiliation.

    12 hours ago · Joy Online →

  4. Fight against galamsey must target all involved parties, coalition says

    The Media Coalition Against Galamsey says the prosecution of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako should be followed by action against all politically exposed persons, financiers, and others implicated in illegal mining, regardless of political affiliation, to ensure fair and consistent enforcement of mining laws.

    12 hours ago · Joy Online →

  5. Wontumi convicted, sentenced 20 years for illegal mining

    The High Court convicted Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) of illegal mining offences at the Samreboi mining concession and sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment. Legal analyst Martin Kpebu said Wontumi's own admission that he allowed another person to operate on his mining concession without ministerial authorisation strengthened the prosecution's case.

    12 hours ago · Joy Online →

  6. Wontumi convicted in Samreboi illegal mining case; sentenced 20 years

    The High Court convicted NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) of illegal mining offences related to the Samreboi mining concession and sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment. Legal analyst Martin Kpebu noted that Wontumi's admission of allowing Henry Okum to operate on his concession without the minister's required approval effectively strengthened the prosecution's case.

    12 hours ago · Joy Online →

Yesterday

  1. NDC official views Wontumi's sentence as justice for galamsey communities

    The National Democratic Congress Deputy Director of IT and Elections says the 20-year sentence handed to NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako represents justice for communities devastated by illegal mining, citing polluted water bodies, destroyed forests, and health concerns affecting residents.

    21 hours ago · Joy Online →

  2. Chairman Wontumi sentenced to 20 years for illegal mining

    The NPP Chairman in the Ashanti Region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), and his company Akonta Mining were convicted by the Accra High Court on July 20 for illegal mining at Samreboi in the Western Region and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment; he plans to appeal the sentence.

    20 July 2026 · Joy Online →

  3. Media Coalition lauds Wontumi conviction, pushes wider galamsey probe

    The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining has commended investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor's reporting on illegal mining and called on the government to expand investigations into all individuals and networks implicated in galamsey, rather than treating the conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) as an isolated case.

    20 July 2026 · Joy Online →

  4. High Court set to rule on Wontumi's alleged illegal mining case

    The Accra High Court is expected to deliver judgment on July 20 in an alleged illegal mining case involving NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), though the defence has applied to halt proceedings pending a Supreme Court constitutional decision. Wontumi, charged through his company Akonta Mining over alleged illegal mining at Samreboi in the Western Region, has denied the allegations.

    20 July 2026 · Joy Online →

Thursday 16 July

  1. NPP chairman requests Supreme Court interpretation of mining law

    Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, has asked the High Court in Accra to refer provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act to the Supreme Court for interpretation. He faces charges of leasing his mining concession at Samreboi in the Western Region contrary to the Act, and his counsel argues that a key provision (Section 14(1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006) is legally vague, overbroad and unconstitutional.

    16 July 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →

Monday 29 June

  1. High Court sets July 20 for judgment in Wontumi mining trial

    The High Court in Accra has granted Bernard Antwi Boasiako's new lead counsel, Samuel Atta Akyea, until July 13, 2026, to submit written legal arguments in the criminal trial arising from alleged illegal mining activities at Samreboi, with judgment expected on July 20, 2026.

    29 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Tuesday 16 June

  1. High Court denies lawyer's bid to drop Wontumi case

    Criminal Division 4 of the High Court in Accra dismissed lawyer Andy Appiah-Kubi's application to withdraw as counsel for Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) in the Samreboi illegal mining case. The court found the application lacked legal authority and had not been served on the accused persons, requiring Appiah-Kubi to remain counsel as the trial continues.

    16 June 2026 · The Chronicle →

Thursday 11 June

  1. Chairman Wontumi's lead lawyer quits illegal mining trial twice

    Andy Appiah-Kubi, the lead lawyer for NPP Ashanti chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), has walked away from defending him in an illegal mining case for the second time in over a year, citing "unseen influences" compromising the trial's integrity. The departure comes as judgment is due July 3 and as Wontumi separately seeks plea negotiations in a fraud case involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank.

    11 June 2026 · Joy Online →

  2. NPP chairman Wontumi seeks plea deal in bank fraud case

    Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, Ashanti regional chairman of the opposition NPP and a businessman known as Chairman Wontumi, has asked prosecutors to negotiate a plea bargain in a multi-million-cedi bank fraud case related to Ghana Export-Import Bank. He is simultaneously fighting two other cases concerning alleged illegal mining and running for the NPP's national chairmanship.

    11 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 25 May

  1. NPP chairman challenges illegal mining case in High Court

    Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako testified before the High Court that individuals who claimed ownership of seized items have been turned into prosecution witnesses against him, while denying involvement in illegal mining activities on a concession where he serves as director.

    25 May 2026 · The Chronicle →

Friday 22 May

  1. Wontumi denies authorising illegal mining on concession

    NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako denied in court that he authorised mining on Akonta Mining's concession, saying his arrangement with witness Henry Okum was only for land reclamation and coconut cultivation. The prosecution contends that he knowingly allowed mining activities and intentionally distanced himself from operations.

    22 May 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 20 May

  1. Former lands minister claims mining land reclamation requires no ministerial consent

    The former Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources testified in the High Court that land reclamation on mining concessions constitutes mine support services, which are legally distinct from the assignment or transfer of mineral rights and do not require the same level of ministerial approval under Ghana's Minerals and Mining Act. This testimony formed part of the defence case for NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako in the Samreboi illegal mining case.

    20 May 2026 · Joy Online →

Thursday 7 May

  1. Chairman Wontumi's mining case adjourned to May 14 next year

    A case management hearing in the Samreboi mining case involving Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako has been concluded, with the court adjourning proceedings to May 14, 2026. Chairman Wontumi and co-accused are on trial for allegedly transferring mining rights in Akonta Mining's Samreboi concession to a third party without approval from the Minister responsible for Mines.

    7 May 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →

Akonta Mining — Ghanaian press coverage · Ghana Minute