The High Court in Accra yesterday rescinded a bench warrant earlier issued against Mr Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The warrant was withdrawn after his counsel, Mr Andy Appiah-Kubi, apologised to the court for arriving late and explained that he had mistaken the sitting time for 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.
Presiding Judge, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, had issued the warrant when the accused, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, failed to appear in court without permission.
Minutes later, his lawyer arrived, apologised, and accepted responsibility for the delay, prompting the court to set aside the warrant.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay cautioned both the accused and his counsel to be punctual, stressing that the case was between the Republic and the accused, not the lawyer.
She explained that although the court did not specify a time when adjourning the case on October 7, the expectation was for proceedings to begin at 9 a.m.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako, a shareholder of Akonta Mining, was on October 7 granted GH¢15 million bail after pleading not guilty to charges of purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation at Samreboi in the Western Region.
He was also barred from travelling outside Ghana pending trial.
The Attorney-General’s Office has charged him and one Kwame Antwi, a director of the company, with illegal mining offences, including the assignment of mineral rights without approval. The latter remains at large.
Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Edem Srem-Sai, told the court that investigations showed Mr Antwi-Boasiako exercised full control over Akonta Mining’s activities.
He added that police operations at Samreboi in April 2025 led to the arrest of 29 suspects and the seizure of weapons, gold, excavators, and cash totalling GH¢157,000.
The case was adjourned for further hearing.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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