Weaponising Bail conditions as punishment: Wontumi caged again.

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will spend the night in police custody after failing to meet bail conditions totaling ₵25 million imposed by two separate High Courts in Accra.

The outspoken politician and businessman is facing multiple charges related to alleged breaches of Ghana’s mining laws.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chairman Wontumi appeared before the Criminal Division of the High Court where he pleaded not guilty to six counts filed by the Office of the Attorney-General. The charges include assigning mineral rights without approval and facilitating unlicensed mining activities involving his company, Akonta Mining Company Limited.

He was granted ₵15 million bail with sureties after being placed on a stop list, preventing him from leaving the country. One of his co-accused persons, Kwame Antwi, is currently on the run.

Later in the day, Wontumi was arraigned again in a second criminal case involving alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimire Forest Reserve at Samreboi in the Western Region.

In this case, he and four others are facing seven charges, including undertaking mining operations without a licence, felling trees, and erecting structures within a forest reserve.

The court, after hearing arguments from both prosecution and defence lawyers, granted him a ₵10 million bail with two sureties, one of whom must justify with landed property.

However, Wontumi’s legal team was unable to meet the bail requirements by close of day, forcing him to remain in custody overnight.

Despite the mounting legal challenges, Chairman Wontumi has pleaded not guilty to all charges in both cases.

The development has sparked widespread public interest, given Wontumi’s high-profile status within the ruling NPP and his close association with several senior government officials.