The Accra High Court has postponed the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve case involving Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to July 31, 2026.
Wontumi was brought before the court by officers from the Ghana Prison Service following his conviction and 20-year prison sentence in the Samreboi illegal mining case.
The latest adjournment was granted after his lawyer submitted a request asking the court for more time.
The case, which centres on alleged illegal mining activities within the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, is the second legal matter involving Wontumi to return before the court after his conviction in the Samreboi case.
During proceedings on June 17, 2026, an investigator told the court that his investigations established that Wontumi allegedly instructed mining operations carried out in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
Chief Inspector Eugene Akpor Glover, the third prosecution witness in the case, made the assertion while being cross-examined.
However, counsel for Wontumi, led by Andy Appiah-Kubi, challenged the claim, suggesting that the investigator had not personally witnessed Wontumi issuing any directives concerning mining activities.
Although Chief Inspector Glover admitted that he did not see Wontumi directly give such instructions, he maintained that investigations conducted by the police linked him to the alleged mining operations in the reserve.
Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining, Kwame Antwi, and Owusu Bempah have been charged over alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Western Region.
Akonta Mining is facing additional charges, including the unauthorised felling of trees in a forest reserve and the construction of structures within the reserve without written approval from the relevant forest authority. The charges are under Section 1(1)(a) of the Forest Protection Act, 1974 (NRCD 243), as amended by Section 1 of the Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 624).
Wontumi, on his part, faces two counts of allegedly aiding the unlawful felling of trees in a forest reserve, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Forest Protection Act, 1974 (NRCD 243), as amended, together with Section 20(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
All the accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been granted bail as the case continues.
