Court Admits Photos, Videos, and Official Statements as Key Evidence in Wontumi’s Galamsey Trial
The High Court in Accra has admitted a substantial body of photographic, video, and documentary evidence in the ongoing trial of Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, over alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Western Region.
The evidence, tendered on Friday, May 29, 2026, includes piles of photographs bearing dates and timestamps, a pen-drive containing geolocation data of the Tano Nimiri Forest, and official statements from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Minerals Commission. Also admitted was a television report documenting a tense confrontation between local residents, chiefs, media personnel, and Minerals Commission officials on one side, and officials of Akonta Mining on the other.
Lead investigator Chief Inspector Eugene Akpo Glover, serving as the second prosecution witness, walked the court through what his team uncovered during the investigation. He told the court that on August 17, 2022, a joint team of Forestry Commission officials, Samreboi chiefs, media personnel, and Samartex staff entered Compartment 161 of the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve to verify reports that Akonta Mining had begun operations in the protected area.
The team’s findings were damning. According to Chief Inspector Glover, the officials passed through four checkpoints that had been illegally mounted inside the forest, each bearing a kiosk with Akonta Mining’s corporate logo. Upon reaching the mining site, they discovered massive destruction across sections of the forest reserve, alongside heavy mining equipment also bearing the company’s branding.
The investigator tendered photographs of the mining equipment found in the forest. He told the court that when Akonta Mining workers spotted the inspection team, they fled the scene, leaving behind machinery and logistics that the Forestry Commission officials promptly seized.
What followed was an armed confrontation that the prosecution says underscores the brazenness of the alleged illegal operation. Chief Inspector Glover testified that as the team exited the forest reserve, they were intercepted by armed men carrying assault rifles, shotguns, and machetes. The men arrived in vehicles branded with Akonta Mining’s logo and held the team hostage for several hours, demanding the return of all seized equipment.
The armed group was reportedly led by one Edward Akuoko. The investigator said the men ultimately managed to retrieve the seized equipment from the team, an incident captured on video and played in open court during Friday’s proceedings.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources subsequently issued a formal statement instructing the Forestry Commission to halt all of Akonta Mining’s activities in the forest reserve. The Minister’s statement confirmed that the company had no authorisation to conduct mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest, a protected area under Ghana’s forest and mining laws.
Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining, Kwame Antwi, and Owusu Bempah face multiple charges related to illegal mining in the forest reserve. The company is additionally charged with felling trees and erecting buildings in a Forest Reserve without written authority from the competent forest authority, contrary to the Forest Protection Act, 1974 (NRCD 243), as amended by the Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 624).
Chairman Wontumi personally faces two counts of abetting the unauthorised felling of trees in a Forest Reserve. All accused persons have pleaded not guilty and have been granted bail while the trial continues, with the prosecution steadily presenting its witnesses and evidence.
The case has drawn significant public attention, coming amid Ghana’s broader crackdown on illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, which has devastated forest reserves, polluted water bodies, and become one of the country’s most pressing environmental crises.
Image Source: STARR FM
