The Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, has claimed that former Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, is unwell in prison.
Abronye alleged that the party’s leadership was withholding information about Wontumi’s health condition for fear that disclosing it would cause anxiety among party supporters.
Speaking on his Ohia TV show, excerpts of which have circulated on social media, the NPP regional chairman claimed that Wontumi was suffering in custody over what he described as fabricated allegations against him.
“I am telling you today that Chairman Wontumi is sick. If anybody tells you that he is fine, that is a lie. NPP followers and supporters, if any of the party’s leaders tells you that he is well, it is a lie. Chairman Wontumi is sick,” Abronye said.
He further alleged that party leaders were reluctant to disclose the information because they feared it would worry supporters.
“They don’t want to say it because supporters will get worried, so don’t let anybody lie to you. Even if the prison authorities say he is fine, it is a lie. He is suffering because of lies that were fabricated against him,” he added.
However, Abronye’s claims about Wontumi’s health have not been independently verified.
Chairman Wontumi has been in custody at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison following his conviction in a case involving Akonta Mining Company Limited.
An Accra High Court sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of offences relating to mining activities on the company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region. The sentences imposed on the two counts are to run concurrently.
Wontumi has since challenged the conviction and sentence, with his lawyers filing an appeal at the Court of Appeal on July 28, 2026.
The appeal seeks to overturn the High Court’s decision, while Abronye’s latest comments have raised questions about the former Ashanti Regional chairman’s alleged health condition in custody.
