Bernard Antwi Bosiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, has been handed what amounts to a final opportunity to mount his defence in the Samreboi illegal mining case. But the path to that point on Monday, April 20, was anything but straightforward.
Bosiako is standing trial over allegations that he permitted mining activities on his Akonta Mining concession in Samreboi without the required authorisation from the sector minister. After the prosecution closed its case, the court directed him to open his defence, outlining his options: testify in person, call witnesses, or make an unsworn statement.
He was first instructed to file his witness statements by March 16, 2026. He did not.
Instead, Bosiako filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, challenging a submission of no case, and applied to the trial court to halt proceedings pending the outcome of that appeal. The application was rejected, and a new deadline of April 14, 2026, was set for the filing of witness statements, with a case management conference to follow.
That deadline also passed without compliance.
When the case was called at the High Court on Monday for the scheduled case management conference, Bosiako’s legal team had still not filed the witness statements. His lawyers informed the court that a fresh application seeking a stay of proceedings had been filed at the Court of Appeal, a repeat of the earlier move, and requested an adjournment until a ruling was delivered.
The prosecution was having none of it. Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem-Sai rose to oppose the request, characterising it as a deliberate delay tactic. He argued that filing a repeat application does not automatically entitle an accused person to a stay of proceedings, and went further, urging the court to proceed to conviction on the grounds that Bosiako had effectively failed to mount any defence.
Presiding judge Audrey Kocuvie-Tay declined the request for an adjournment. She ordered Bosiako to file his witness statements by May 5, 2026, ahead of a case management conference scheduled for May 7. She also made clear that proceedings would continue in the meantime, regardless of what happens at the Court of Appeal.
It is a firm signal from the bench that the court will not allow the trial to be indefinitely stalled through procedural manoeuvres. For Chairman Wontumi, the May 5 deadline now looms as a critical moment, one that will determine whether he mounts a formal defence or leaves his fate increasingly in the hands of the court.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com