Anti-galamsey campaigner urges govt to prosecute all politically exposed persons implicated in illegal mining

Anti-illegal mining campaigner Awula Serwah has cautioned against treating the conviction of Akonta Mining owner and Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, as the end of Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, insisting that all politically exposed persons implicated in the practice must face the law.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (21 July), the member of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey described the conviction as a welcome development but warned that it would lose credibility if authorities failed to pursue other influential figures accused of involvement in illegal mining.

“Chairman Wontumi cannot be the poster boy for illegal mining,” Serwah said.

She noted that for years campaigners had accused politically connected individuals of engaging in or facilitating illegal mining while escaping accountability.

According to her, Wontumi’s prosecution followed years of complaints by civil society groups and the media, who had alleged his involvement in illegal mining activities without seeing any meaningful action from law enforcement agencies.

“Now suddenly the prosecution has taken place and he has been found guilty. We welcome the situation, but all we are saying is that it cannot end with Chairman Wontumi,” she said.

Serwah argued that several other high-profile individuals had been named in reports on illegal mining, including those cited in former Environment Minister Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s report and others alleged to be involved under the current administration.

She said those individuals should equally be investigated and, where evidence exists, prosecuted.

“Other highly placed persons have also been named as being either actively involved or complicit in illegal mining, and therefore they should also be investigated, if need be arrested and prosecuted,” she said.

The anti-galamsey campaigner warned that stopping at Wontumi’s conviction would fuel claims of selective justice and undermine public confidence in the government’s commitment to tackling environmental crime.

“We cannot end there. Otherwise, there will be accusations of being selective,” she said.

Serwah described the High Court’s decision as “a step in the right direction” but noted that meaningful progress would depend on whether the same legal standards were applied to every suspect regardless of political affiliation.

She maintained that Ghana’s fight against illegal mining could only succeed if enforcement agencies demonstrated that no individual was above the law.

The High Court sentenced Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment after convicting him over offences linked to illegal mining activities involving Akonta Mining, a judgment that has reignited debate over accountability in Ghana’s long-running battle against galamsey.

Source: AsaaseRadio