Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been released from police custody after satisfying stringent bail conditions set by two separate High Courts in Accra.
His release on Friday, October 10, 2025, follows three nights in detention after being granted bail earlier in the week in connection with ongoing charges linked to Akonta Mining Company Limited.
Wontumi, who maintains his innocence, faces multiple counts of facilitating unlicensed mining operations and illegally assigning mineral rights without ministerial authorization.
In one of the rulings, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay admitted him to bail in the sum of GH₵15 million, with three sureties, two of whom must justify with landed property.
A separate ruling by Justice Ruby Aryeetey granted both Wontumi and Edward Akuoko, the company’s Operations Manager, GH₵10 million bail each, supported by two sureties — one to be justified with property.
Despite the bail approvals on Tuesday, October 7, administrative bottlenecks delayed his release until the court’s registry completed the bond verification process.
Wontumi’s lawyers have described the conditions as “strict but fair,” adding that their client remains committed to clearing his name and cooperating fully with ongoing investigations into the Akonta Mining controversy, which continues to dominate public debate on illegal mining in Ghana.
