Court Strikes Out Appiah-Kubi Application to Withdraw Legal Services in Wontumi Mining Case
An Accra High Court has struck out an application filed by lawyer Andy Appiah-Kubi seeking leave to withdraw his legal services in the Samreboi illegal mining case involving Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the New Patriotic Party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman widely known as Wontumi, and his firm Akonta Mining Company Limited.
The court ruled that the application was incompetent and alien to criminal procedure, holding that there is no legal requirement compelling defence counsel to seek a court’s permission before withdrawing from a case. The matter, the judge observed, is fundamentally one between a lawyer and a client.
Mr Appiah-Kubi had argued that since the court had formally recognised him as counsel for the accused persons, it equally had the right to be informed of his withdrawal. He maintained that the court possessed jurisdiction to hear the application because the issues raised related to matters already pending before it.
Dr Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney-General, opposed the application, arguing that the process filed by Mr Appiah-Kubi was unknown to criminal procedure. He contended that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine the matter and prayed the judge to strike it out as incompetent, a prayer the court ultimately granted.
The application had been filed on June 5, 2026, with the Attorney-General subsequently filing a preliminary legal objection. The withdrawal attempt had attracted significant public attention given the profile of the accused and the broader national debate around illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, which has devastated water bodies and forest reserves across Ghana.
Despite striking out the application, the court extended the deadline for filing written addresses from June 17 to June 24, 2026. The date for judgment, expected on July 3, 2026, remains unchanged.
The ruling raises important questions about the relationship between legal representation and the administration of criminal justice in Ghana. While the court acknowledged that a lawyer cannot be forced to represent a client, it equally made clear that the withdrawal process does not require judicial gatekeeping, a position that clarifies the boundaries of court authority in criminal proceedings.
The Samreboi illegal mining case is one of several high-profile prosecutions arising from the government’s intensified crackdown on galamsey operations. The outcome of the trial, now proceeding to judgment without a change in legal representation, will be closely watched as a test of Ghana’s willingness to hold politically connected individuals accountable for environmental destruction.
Image Source: GHANA BUSINESS NEWS
