The State has called its first witness in the case involving Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and two others, standing trial for allegedly mining without authorisation on a concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
The first prosecution witness, Michael Gyedu Ayisi, an artisanal miner, told the court that he worked as an administrator and supervisor on a concession, which he said was taken over by Chairman Wontumi.
Ayisi said he worked on the concession for about eight months prior to his arrest, which had two sections: a mined area and an unmined area.
Recounting his arrest, the witness told the court that on April 17, 2025, at about 4:30 a.m., he was asleep when police and military officers knocked on his door and entered his room.
Under cross-examination by Andy Appiah-Kubi, counsel for Chairman Wontumi, the witness said his immediate boss, Henry Okun, took over the concession from Chairman Wontumi.
However, when asked whether he had seen any document evidencing the transfer of the concession, Ayisi said he was only informed by Okun about the transfer and had never seen any such documents.
The witness said he and Okun worked on different sections of the concession and that he had not seen any documents relating to ownership of the land.
Ayisi said he did not personally know Chairman Wontumi but saw him on television as the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He admitted that he was not privy to any deed of assignment between Chairman Wontumi and Okun, saying, “I have not seen any documents like that.”
When defence counsel suggested that he did not know who owned the concession, the witness responded, “If you go to Samreboi, everybody knows that the land belongs to Chairman Wontumi; even a child knows that.”
The witness also told the court that the ammunition seized at the site by the Police belonged to Henry Okun.
He said while working on the land, they extracted some gold, and at the time of their arrest, some gold was found on them.
However, he could not state how many times gold was extracted from the site.
Chairman Wontumi and two others are before a High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, for allegedly allowing mining on a concession at Samreboi without authorisation from the then Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
He is standing trial together with his mining firm, Akonta Mining Limited, and one Kwame Antwi, a co-director, who is currently at large.
Chairman Wontumi has been charged with deliberately facilitating an unlicensed mining operation, while Kwame Antwi is charged with assignment of mineral rights without approval.
He (Chairman Wontumi) has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is on a GH¢15 million bail.
