Ghana’s main opposition party has condemned the 20-year prison sentence handed to one of its most prominent regional leaders over illegal mining offences, alleging that the case was politically motivated.
Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the New Patriotic Party’s chairman in the Ashanti region, was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labour by a court in the capital, Accra, on Monday.
Boasiako, widely known as “Chairman Wontumi,” was also ordered to pay fines exceeding $10,000 after being convicted of unlawfully assigning mineral rights and facilitating mining operations without a licence through his company, Akonta Mining.
He had denied the charges and appeared visibly stunned as the judge delivered the sentence.
The ruling makes Boasiako the first senior Ghanaian political figure to be convicted of illegal mining since authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on the practice in 2017.
Prosecutors said Boasiako permitted Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi to conduct mining activities on an Akonta Mining concession without obtaining approval from the minister responsible for lands and natural resources.
The New Patriotic Party rejected the judgement, arguing that the court had disregarded evidence that could have cleared its regional chairman.
“The fight against illegal mining cannot become credible only when it targets political opponents in respect of whom evidence of wrongdoing does not exist,” NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong told reporters.
Frimpong said the party’s lawyers had begun the process of appealing the conviction.
Illegal mining, commonly known in Ghana as “galamsey,” has caused extensive damage to rivers, forests and farmland across the country.
Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer, but unregulated mining has polluted major water sources and generated growing public anger over its environmental and health consequences.
Successive governments have introduced restrictions and deployed security forces in an attempt to curb the industry, but illegal operations have continued in several mining regions.
Environmental campaigners welcomed Boasiako’s conviction, describing it as an important warning to politically connected businessmen and financiers accused of supporting unlicensed mining.
Adib Saani, executive director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, said the ruling demonstrated that accountability was essential to protecting Ghana’s forests, rivers and other natural resources.
The case is expected to intensify political tensions between the government and the opposition as Boasiako prepares to challenge both his conviction and sentence.