A High Court in Accra has sentenced Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), to 20 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty on six counts related to illegal mining.
The ruling, delivered on Monday, 20 July 2026, is regarded as the highest-profile conviction in Ghana’s ongoing fight against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.
The Court found Antwi-Boasiako guilty of offences including the unlawful assignment of mineral rights and intentionally facilitating unlicensed mining operations. Delivering the judgment, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay said the accused had admitted that no ministerial approval had been obtained for the mining activities.
The conviction stems from a police operation in April 2025, during which several miners were arrested and excavators, firearms and cash were seized from illegal mining sites.
The 20-year sentence falls within Ghana’s statutory penalty of 15 to 25 years for such offences. Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, retains the right to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.
Ghana has intensified efforts to combat illegal mining, which authorities say has devastated forests, polluted rivers and caused economic losses estimated at US$2 billion annually.