NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has revealed that his biggest disappointment following the conviction of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is not the prison sentence itself but the political consequence it has created for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, Wontumi’s 20-year jail term has effectively taken him out of the race for the NPP national chairmanship position, a development Asiedu Nketiah believes could have given the National Democratic Congress (NDC) an advantage in future elections.
Speaking in an interview with Ambassadors TV via YouTube on August 1, 2026, the NDC National Chairman criticised the NPP’s response to Wontumi’s conviction, accusing the party of damaging its own reputation by defending him.
He argued that the party’s stance could weaken its ability to condemn illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, and the destruction of Ghana’s water bodies.
“I feel pained when the NPP wants to tarnish the party’s image and follow Wontumi in this case. I am most worried. This is not the party I know. They are disgracing the party. What really pained me in Wontumi’s case is that now that he is jailed, he cannot become the national chairman.
“That is my only pain. So, I pray that Abronye should also win so that the election becomes easy for us,” he said.
Asiedu Nketiah’s comments come after Criminal Court 4 of the High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, convicted Chairman Wontumi on charges linked to breaches of Ghana’s mining laws.
The court found him guilty under provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 995).
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with all custodial sentences ordered to run concurrently. The court also imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units on each of the six counts for which he was convicted.
Akonta Mining Limited, which was convicted on two counts, was fined 15,000 penalty units on each count.
The prosecution had accused Chairman Wontumi of unlawfully assigning mineral rights connected to Akonta Mining’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region without securing approval from the sector minister.
He was also alleged to have facilitated mining activities carried out without the required authorisation on the concession.
Watch the interview below.
