1. What Has Happened Now
The AG has filed six criminal charges against:
• Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Wontumi) — a director of Akonta Mining,
• Kwame Antwi — a director of Akonta Mining (currently at large), and
• Akonta Mining Company Limited — their firm.
The charges were filed on October 6, 2025, at the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra.
They relate to alleged illegal mining in 2024 at Samreboi in the Western Region, not the earlier 2022 incident in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
2. The Core of the Case
According to the charge sheet, the AG accuses Wontumi and his company of allowing two men, Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi, to mine on Akonta’s concession at Samreboi without ministerial approval and without holding a mining licence.
Police uncovered this after a special anti-galamsey operation in April 2025, which led to the arrest of 29 people and seizure of mining equipment and weapons.
3. The Offences and Laws Cited
Each of the three defendants, Wontumi, Kwame Antwi, and Akonta Mining Ltd., faces the same two offences under the mining laws:
(i) Assignment of mineral rights without approval, contrary to law. The law prohibits anyone from allowing others to mine or use mineral rights without the prior written approval of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
(ii) Facilitating unlicensed mining, contrary to law.
4. The Penalties
Under Section 99(2) of the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995):
• Anyone who undertakes or facilitates mining without a licence commits an offence and, on conviction, is liable to:
•a fine of not less than ten thousand penalty units (≈ ₵120,000) and not more than fifteen thousand penalty units (≈ ₵180,000); and
• a term of imprisonment of not less than fifteen years and not more than twenty-five years; or
• both the fine and the imprisonment.
5. The Forfeitures Sought
The AG will ask the court to forfeit all items seized during the April 2025 operation. These include 25 excavators, 8 pump-action guns, 310 cartridges, 4 motorcycles, 2 vehicles, ₵157,000 cash, and gold pieces.
6. The 2022 Tano Nimiri Episode
This case must be understood against the backdrop of the 2022 Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve controversy, where Akonta Mining was accused of operating illegally in a protected forest.
There, the then Lands Minister declared the operation illegal but the then President, responding to a question from Ken Ashigbey, later stated that Akonta was not engaged in galamsey anywhere in the country.
The police investigation docket for that case then mysteriously went missing.
The 2025 charges focus on new acts in Samreboi, not Tano Nimiri, but involve the same company and owner raising legitimate questions about what happened to the earlier investigation.
7. The Unanswered Questions
• What became of the 2022 Tano Nimiri investigation docket?
• Were some of the same investigators or evidence involved in this new case?
• Was that investigation docket ever forwarded to the AG?
• If so, what was the disposition at the AG level?
• If not, why has the docket resurfaced?
• What prosecution decisions have been made on the resurfaced docket?
8. Why a Full-Scale Probe Is Essential
If we are serious about fighting galamsey, justice cannot depend on timing or politics.
Those who hid or delayed the 2022 docket are as complicit as those who mined without a licence.
The AG must therefore:
a. Launch an independent probe into how and why the 2022 docket vanished.
b. Identify and sanction anyone who suppressed or tampered with evidence.
c. Clarify whether the 2025 charges draw on any part of that earlier investigation.
Let the probe come — not to settle scores, but to clear the air, vindicate the innocent, vilify the guilty, and excavate the truth buried beneath politics.
By Kwaku Azar
