Ken Ashigbey, the convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining (Galamsey), has praised the judge presiding over the illegal mining case against Chairman Wontumi for her ‘courage’ in delivering the sentence.
On Monday, July 20, an Accra High Court found Chairman Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining, guilty of illegal mining activities at his Samreboi concession located in the Western Region.
The lead counsel for the Ashanti Regional Chairman requested the court to postpone the judgement scheduled for Monday, July 20, citing his absence from the jurisdiction and his expected return on July 22.
However, in her ruling, the presiding judge, Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, remarked that both parties had been consulted regarding the judgement date; therefore, Atta Akyea should have informed the court if he was aware of his unavailability on the agreed date.
The Court also rejected the application for postponement and the referral of certain constitutional questions to the Supreme Court, which the defense sought to have addressed by the highest court.
Chairman Wontumi has been accused of granting mineral rights without the necessary approval from the Minister responsible for mining and facilitating unlicensed mining operations at Samreboi in the Western Region. He received a sentence of 20 years in prison.
In response to this outcome, Ken Ashigbey expressed to journalists, “I am pleased, and I believe we should also acknowledge the Attorney General for pursuing this case diligently, and we must commend the judge for her display of courage. Additionally, we should recognize the former Minister for Land and Natural Resources, who was the first to publicly state that Akonta Mining was engaged in illegal activities.”
He stated, “We recall that in October 2024, the then former President and candidate for the NDC, the current President, His Excellency John Mahama, expressed that the battle against Galamsey would be futile unless we addressed the campaign. It is commendable that we are tackling one campaign, but what has transpired regarding the other politically exposed individuals mentioned in Professor Frimpong Boateng’s report? What has occurred in that regard? The current Attorney General initiated investigations into two individuals who are part of this government, yet we have not received any updates on that.
“It is known that numerous politically exposed individuals were implicated in Galamsey. These include DCEs and MCEs, who have either shown complicity or incompetence in relation to Galamsey. A chief openly stated in a forum that approximately 80 percent of chiefs are involved in Galamsey. What actions are being taken against these chiefs? There are many we could identify, and some have publicly acknowledged their involvement; for instance, Otunfor has made such statements. Additionally, the former Speaker of Parliament mentioned that certain parliamentarians were either facilitating or participating in these activities.
“This is merely the beginning. If we are genuinely committed to addressing Galamsey effectively, we must ensure that many influential individuals who are roaming the corridors of power, flaunting their wealth, are also held accountable and face sentencing. Regarding the 20-year prison term, I would have preferred that a judge impose the maximum sentence of 25 years, along with the highest possible fine.”
