The Minority Caucus in Parliament has strongly condemned the 20-year prison sentence imposed on New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, insisting that the conviction was unjust and would be challenged in the higher courts.

According to the caucus, the trial was fraught with constitutional and legal irregularities, and it has pledged to pursue every available legal avenue to overturn the judgment.

In a statement released on Monday, July 20, and signed by Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the caucus alleged that the proceedings were characterised by procedural flaws and selective enforcement of the law.

Chairman Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining Limited, were found guilty by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay on two counts each under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended. The court subsequently sentenced Wontumi to 20 years in prison.

The Minority argued that the High Court should not have delivered its judgment in the absence of Wontumi’s lead lawyer, who had informed the court beforehand that he would be out of the country on a prior professional assignment.

It maintained that proceeding without the accused’s preferred legal counsel violated Article 19(2)(g) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees every accused person the right to be represented by a lawyer of their choice.

To support its position, the caucus referred to the case involving former Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Chief Executive Tsatsu Tsikata, whose conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2016 on fair trial grounds.

The statement stressed that constitutional rights should be upheld consistently, irrespective of a person’s political affiliation.

“If the right to counsel of choice mattered in 2003, it matters in 2026, and it matters exactly as much when the accused sits on the other side of the political aisle,” the statement said.

The Minority also criticised the High Court’s refusal to refer constitutional issues concerning Section 99(2)(b) of the Minerals and Mining Act to the Supreme Court under Article 130 of the Constitution.

According to the caucus, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Republic v. The High Court, General Jurisdiction 6, Accra; Ex Parte Dr. Zanetor A. Rawlings (2016) suggests that the High Court lacked the authority to decide on the constitutional questions without first referring them to the apex court.

It further challenged the court’s decision to lift the corporate veil of Akonta Mining Limited and hold Chairman Wontumi personally responsible, arguing that such a legal step is exceptional and should be reviewed by an appellate court.

Although the Minority reaffirmed its support for the fight against illegal mining, it accused the government of applying the law selectively based on political considerations.

The caucus questioned why investigations reportedly ordered by the Attorney-General on July 15, 2025, into alleged illegal mining involving NDC National Organiser Joseph Yamin and National Vice Chairman Yakubu Abanga have not resulted in prosecutions.

It also pointed to what it described as the absence of action over the alleged takeover of a licensed mining concession at Apinto by foreign nationals, contrasting that with the swift prosecution and lengthy sentence imposed on Chairman Wontumi.

The Minority has therefore called on the Office of the Attorney-General to publish a detailed record of all illegal mining prosecutions to demonstrate that the law is being enforced fairly and without political bias.

It also encouraged Chairman Wontumi’s legal team to exhaust all legal options, including filing an appeal and seeking an order of certiorari, while assuring supporters of the NPP that it would continue to challenge the conviction through constitutional and legal processes.