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Incarcerated Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has apologised to President John Dramani Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama for any offensive remarks he made during the campaign ahead of the 2024 general election.
The apology comes as Wontumi serves a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction over illegal mining activities linked to the Samreboi Forest.
Appeal for forgiveness
Speaking in an interview with Citi News, Wontumi’s spokesperson, Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, said the apology was offered as a gesture of goodwill while appealing to President Mahama to consider granting him clemency.
“The first call is to render an apology, and I think that is important. Former Chairman renders an apology to him if, at some stage, the conversations went overboard, which was never intended,” Boakye-Danquah said.
He explained that the apology was intended to promote reconciliation and respect, rather than reopen political disagreements.
Not an admission of political influence
Boakye-Danquah stressed that the apology should not be interpreted as an admission that politics influenced the legal proceedings that resulted in Wontumi’s conviction.
“Not at all. We are aware that in this country there are influences. If you are able to identify those influences and begin making amends, I think we build a better society for all of us to live in,” he stated.
He maintained that the request for forgiveness was aimed at fostering national unity and reconciliation, not suggesting that President Mahama had any involvement in the prosecution or sentencing.
Serving a 20-year prison sentence
Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after the Criminal Court 4 Division of the High Court found him guilty on all six charges brought against him.
He was prosecuted alongside Akonta Mining Limited and a third accused person, Kwame Antwi, over alleged illegal mining activities on the company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully assigned mineral rights without obtaining the required approval from the sector minister and facilitated mining operations without the necessary authorisation, contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act.
The conviction has become one of Ghana’s most high-profile illegal mining cases, with Wontumi’s appeal for clemency now adding a new dimension to the ongoing public discussion surrounding the case.
