A prominent Ghanaian politician has been sentenced to 20 years in jail with hard labor for illegal mining offenses, sparking anger and accusations of political motivation from his party. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Ashanti region and popularly known as "Chairman Wontumi," received the sentence on Monday in Accra.
Boasiako is the first senior politician in Ghana to be convicted of illegal mining since the government initiated a crackdown on the practice in 2017. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to pay fines exceeding $10,000 (£7,450). He had denied the charges.
The conviction was based on findings that he was guilty of "assigning mineral rights without approval" and "facilitating an unlicensed mining operation" through his company, Akonta Mining. Boasiako appeared visibly shocked when the judge delivered the sentence.
Ghana is Africa's leading gold producer, but the nation has struggled with widespread illegal mining, locally referred to as "galamsey." This activity has led to significant pollution of the country's waters and environment, and past government efforts to curb it, including military deployments, have yielded limited success.