Adoa News Adoa News
Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has denied authorising prosecution witness Henry Okum (PW2) to mine on the concession of Akonta Mining, insisting their agreement was solely for land reclamation and coconut planting.
Testifying in his defence before the High Court in Accra on Thursday, May 21, Wontumi told the court that PW2 was only granted access to reclaim degraded portions of the concession by planting coconut trees and not to engage in mining activities.
Wontumi and Akonta Mining are currently standing trial on charges including assigning mineral rights without ministerial approval. His testimony followed the close of the prosecution’s case.
Prior to his appearance in the witness box, the defence called two witnesses — mining expert Wisdom Gomashie and former Deputy Lands Minister George Mireku Duker.
During cross-examination by Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai, Wontumi admitted granting PW2 access to the concession but maintained the purpose was strictly reclamation.
“I didn’t give him permission to mine,” he told the court.
“He came to reclaim the land and plant coconut trees so that when the coconuts mature, we would share,” he added.
Wontumi also denied allegations that he assisted PW2 in acquiring excavators or other earth-moving equipment for mining operations.
“That is not true. I do not know what work he did. He only planted trees and carried out reclamation. I did not assist him in purchasing any earth-moving equipment,” he stated.
The prosecution, however, argued that Wontumi knowingly allowed mining activities on the concession and intentionally distanced himself from the site to avoid direct links to the operations.
Justice Srem Sai further suggested that Wontumi was aware PW2 was a small-scale miner and granted him access for mining purposes. Wontumi rejected the claim, insisting PW2 described himself as a “service support miner” rather than an illegal miner.
The prosecution also alleged that Wontumi’s business practice involved acquiring mining leases and allowing others to conduct illegal mining in exchange for a share of the proceeds, commonly referred to as “goodwill” or “percentage” in illegal mining circles.
Wontumi dismissed the allegation as “a blatant falsehood.”
A key part of the prosecution’s case centres on testimony previously given by PW2, Henry Okum, who told the court that Wontumi permitted him to mine portions of the concession while using proceeds from the mining activities to fund reclamation works.
In an earlier ruling directing Wontumi to open his defence, presiding judge Audrey Kocuvie-Tay referenced both PW2’s testimony and Wontumi’s caution statement to police.
“The evidence on record shows that A1 did permit PW2 to enter the concession,” the judge ruled.
The ruling cited Wontumi’s caution statement in which he admitted allowing PW2 onto the concession “only to plant coconut trees to reclaim the mined portion of the concession.”
However, Justice Kocuvie-Tay also pointed to PW2’s testimony, where he claimed Wontumi agreed he could mine on unmined portions of the concession and use proceeds from the mining to finance reclamation efforts.
According to the ruling, PW2 stated: “A1 agreed that I mine on the unmined portions of the concession… A1 did not give me any money to do the reclamation works as I was expected to use a portion of the proceeds from my mining activities… to defray the cost of reclamation.”
The judge noted that the absence of direct financial support for reclamation strengthened PW2’s account.
“Essential to the believability of PW2’s testimony is the fact that A1 did not give PW2 funds for the reclamation exercise, which A1 admits to allowing PW2 to undertake on his concession. How else did A1 expect PW2 to fund the reclamation exercise?” the ruling stated.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Wontumi admitted there was no written agreement between him and PW2 regarding the reclamation arrangement.
“I have no documentation with PW2 apart from the instruction to reclaim the land and plant trees, which he has done, and when it matures, we will share,” he told the court.
He also acknowledged that he never visited the concession site after granting PW2 access, although he claimed PW2 regularly sent him videos showing reclamation work and the planting of approximately 18,000 coconut trees.