NPP leadership holds emergency meeting to review Wontumi’s 20 years conviction

Nii Ayitey Brown 15:35 - 20 July 2026

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NPP challenges Wontumi’s conviction, says judgment was based on assumptions not evidence

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says its leadership, flagbearer and legal team are reviewing the High Court judgment that sentenced Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to 20 years in prison, with the party expected to announce its next course of action.

The NPP says its leadership, flagbearer and legal team are reviewing the High Court judgment that sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years in prison.
General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong says the party will announce its official position after deliberating on the court's ruling and determining the next course of action.
The party has urged its members to remain calm, united and disciplined as it responds to one of Ghana's most high-profile illegal mining cases.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced that its leadership, together with the party's flagbearer and legal team, is reviewing the High Court judgment that sentenced its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to 20 years in prison over the Samreboi mining case.

In a statement issued on Monday, July 20, shortly after the court delivered its ruling, NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said the party's top leadership had convened a meeting to assess the judgment and determine its next steps.

"The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), together with our Flagbearer and the Party's legal team, is currently in a meeting to thoroughly review the judgement delivered by the Court….and to determine the appropriate next course of action," the statement said.

The party indicated that it would make its official position known after the meeting.

The Party will communicate its official position and the decisions arising from these deliberations in due course.

As supporters react to the conviction, the NPP appealed to its members to remain composed and united while the leadership considers the legal and political implications of the case.

"In the meantime, I respectfully urge all members of our great Party to rally behind the leadership during this challenging moment. Let us remain calm, united, disciplined, and steadfast in our commitment to the values and interests of the New Patriotic Party," Justin Kodua Frimpong said.

The statement comes hours after Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, presiding over the Criminal Division of the High Court, convicted Chairman Wontumi on all 6 charges brought against him in connection with illegal mining activities.

The court sentenced the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman to 20 years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units. Should he fail to pay the fine, he will serve an additional three-year prison term, although the court ordered that the custodial sentence and the default term run concurrently.

Mr Antwi Boasiako was found guilty of assigning mineral rights without the required ministerial approval and intentionally facilitating an unlicensed mining operation, contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended. Under the law, the offences carry custodial sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years.

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