The Criminal Division Four of the High Court in Accra, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, has begun taking testimony in the trial involving Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Chairman Wontumi, together with Kwame Antwi (at large) and Akonta Mining Company Limited, has been charged in relation to alleged illegal mining activities at the Samreboi Forest Reserve in the Western Region.
The prosecution opened its case with the testimony of Michael Gyedu Ayisi, an artisanal miner, who appeared as the first prosecution witness (PW1).
Michael Gyedu Ayisi was led in evidence by the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai.
Prosecution’s Evidence
In his evidence-in-chief, which was adopted by the court after being tendered as his witness statement, Michael Ayisi told the court that he is an artisanal miner residing at Menipassem, near Samreboi.
He said he was employed by one Henry Okum, a licensed small-scale miner, as an administrator and supervisor at a mining concession in the Samreboi area.
According to the witness, the concession had both mined and unmined portions. He explained that mining activities were conducted in the unmined sections, while the already mined areas were reclaimed through the planting of coconut seedlings.
Michael Ayisi further testified that on April 17, 2025 at about 4:30 a.m., a joint team of police and military officers stormed the site and arrested him, together with five others.
He said the officers were armed and conducted the arrest while they were asleep in an office building on the concession.
Michael Ayisi told the court that during the arrest, he informed the officers that some weapons found at the site belonged to the company and were registered in the name of his employer, Henry Okum.
He said he voluntarily handed over the weapons and some ammunition to the police.
Cross-Examination
Under cross-examination by lead counsel for Chairman Wontumi, Andy Appiah-Kubi, Ayisi admitted that he does not personally know Chairman Wontumi and has never met him at the Samreboi site.
He said his knowledge that the concession belonged to Chairman Wontumi was based solely on what his employer, Henry Okum told him.
The witness also acknowledged that he had never seen any concession documents or deed of assignment linking Chairman Wontumi to the land.
He admitted that he did not know the precise boundaries of the concession and had not seen any official documentation governing it.
Michael Ayisi further told the court that he gave multiple caution statements to the police following his arrest, all of which were taken in Twi and translated into English.
He maintained that the statements were given voluntarily.On the issue of gold recovered from the site, Michael Ayisi confirmed that gold was found on him at the time of his arrest and that the gold had been mined from the site.
He said the gold extracted during their operations was handed over to Henry Okum, although he could not state the quantity or frequency of such deliveries.
During proceedings, the court noted submissions by defence counsel regarding the ownership of the ammunition and observed that there was no charge before the court specifically relating to the said ammunition.
After the close of cross-examination, the court adjourned the case to Tuesday, January 13, 2026, for the continuation of proceedings.
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