Author: SAMUEL
Criminologist and legal expert Professor Ken Attafuah has criticised Ghana’s mining laws for prioritising economic gains over the protection of communities and the environment. He argued that the country’s legal framework has consistently advanced state interests while sidelining the rights of those most affected by mining activities. “We have done well in enacting laws that serve the state’s economic ambitions,” Prof. Attafuah said during a discussion on the Asaase Breakfast Show. “But those same laws have undermined the rights of local communities and weakened accountability.” His comments reinforced earlier points made by Kwaku Afari, Technical Director of WACAM, who blamed…
The Tema Regional Police have announced the conviction of two men involved in a brutal rape and robbery case that occurred along the Apollonia–Afienya road on September 27, 2025. In a statement issued on Tuesday, October 7, the police said the crime involved a 19-year-old hairdresser who had hired one of the suspects, Nicholas Tetteh, as a motor rider to take her to Afienya. Along the journey, Tetteh allegedly conspired with two others, including Joseph Tetteh, to attack the victim. “Investigations revealed that the victim was dragged into a nearby bush, where she was sexually assaulted by two of the…
The Technical Director of WACAM, Kwaku Afari, has attributed Ghana’s worsening environmental destruction and illegal mining crisis to the country’s mining laws, which he describes as overly “promotional” and skewed toward attracting foreign investment at the expense of environmental and community protection. Afari argued that the legal framework itself has created the conditions for environmental degradation by granting excessive rights to mining companies. “The law makes provision for mining companies to impound, convey and divert water from rivers and streams. “So what we are seeing now, the destruction of our water bodies, is something we legally called for. The law…
A Tarkwa Circuit Court, presided over by Her Ladyship Ama Hathia Manu, has remanded into prison custody 12 illegal miners accused of excavating along the Akyim-Bonsawere section of the Western Railway Corridor. The suspects were arrested on September 30, 2025, in an operation led by ASP De-Ben Eden Selassi, Operations Commander of the Western Central Regional Police Command. They have been charged with three counts — illegal mining, conspiracy to commit a crime to wit illegal mining, and causing damage. The accused persons have been identified as Dennis Adom, Alex Kofi Acquah, Kwame Simon, Isaac Arhin, Larri Koku, Lambon Moyisi,…
The National Service Authority (NSA) has cancelled all June 2025 registrations for the 2025/2026 service year, declaring them null and void over data integrity concerns. In a statement, the Authority said a new online registration exercise will open from Wednesday, October 8 to Wednesday, October 15, 2025, following a directive from President John Dramani Mahama. The directive came after a Technical and Forensic Audit found the previous Central Service Management Platform (CSMP) unsatisfactory. The NSA said the new digital platform will ensure transparency, security, and real-time verification, adding that all prospective service personnel must re-register. “All previous registrations from June…
The Bono Regional Police Command has launched investigations into a robbery and murder incident at Frimps Filling Station in Abesim, within the Sunyani East Municipality. The incident, which occurred on Sunday, October 6, 2025, resulted in the death of a security man, identified as Akwasi Addai, believed to be in his late sixties. Preliminary investigations indicate that the deceased was found dead on the porch of a nearby shop with severe head injuries. Police say the robbers broke into the filling station and made away with an undisclosed amount of money from an office used for electricity power sales and…
Lead Counsel for Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, Andy Appiah Kubi, has expressed concern over the cumbersome nature of bail procedures in Ghana following the court’s decision to grant bail to his client and other accused persons in their ongoing galamsey cases. Speaking to journalists after court proceedings, Appiah Kubi confirmed that bail had been secured in both cases pending against Wontumi and his company, Akonta Mining. “Fortunately for us, we’ve been able to secure bail for Sir Naomi Twohy and his company and the other accused persons. They have been admitted to bail on various arms…
The Attorney-General’s Office has filed new criminal charges against Akonta Mining Company Limited and its owner, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, over alleged illegal mining and environmental offences. The charges were filed on October 6, 2025, at the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra. Akonta Mining is listed as the first accused, Wontumi as the second, and three others, Kwame Antwi (at large), Edward Akuoko (General Manager), and Kwadwo Owusu Bempah (at large), as co-accused. The case involves illegal mining in the Tano Nimire Forest Reserve in the Western Region. The charges include operating a mine without…
Barely hours after his first court appearance on charges related to illegal mining, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is facing fresh legal trouble. The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party and owner of Akonta Mining Company Limited has been hit with a new set of charges connected to alleged illegal activities within the Tano Nimwiri Forest Reserve. The latest charge sheet, which was served shortly after proceedings in his initial case, accuses him of undertaking mining operations without a license in the protected forest area. In addition, he is being charged with felling trees without…
Screenshot Vice-President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has the capacity to become Ghana’s first female President, as she is a strong and indisputable candidate, Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has stated. He expressed his confidence in Prof. Opoku-Agyemang’s leadership abilities, stating that “she is well-qualified to lead the nation.” Mr Iddrisu stated this at the Ghana Teacher Prize event, held at the University of Health and Allied Sciences last Sunday. The Minister of Education, who is being tipped to run as flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), explained that his latest endorsement was to clarify remarks he made during the…