President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has described as “wayward”, claims by Ofoase Ayirebi Member of Parliament, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, that Ghana’s justice system has been turned upside down, following the jailing of Wontumi.
Franklin Cudjoe, who opposes the establishment of the public tribunals, says such comments from members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) gives proponents of the tribunal system justifications for their calls.
His comments come on the back of a post made by Oppong Nkrumah on his X account, describing the jailing of Wontumi as weaponising of the justice delivery system.
According to Oppong Nkrumah, there are many NDC faithful engaging in illegal mining who are walking freely, only for the Government to jail Wontumi who is not engaging in the act.
“Several NDC persons whose submission of no case had been rejected by the courts and had a case to answer, have been left off the hook by the NDC prosecutors and the courts. Instead, Wontumi has been jailed not for illegal mining but that someone who he argues he gave his company’s former mine to, for purposes of reclamation, was found doing mining on it.
“And yet the actual illegal miner has been set loose rather. This is not law or justice. It is a weaponising of the justice delivery system. This is why the NPP considers Wontumi a political prisoner. The justice system has been turned upside down.”
Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on each of two counts by the Accra High Court over illegal activities on a mining concession he owned at Samraboi in the Western region.
The sentences are to run concurrently. The court also fined him 10,000 penalty units on each of the two counts. Akonta Mining Limited, a company owned by Wontumi, which was convicted on two counts, was fined 15,000 penalty units on each count.
Reacting to Oppong Nkrumah’s comment in a Facebook post Wednesday, July 22, 2026, Franklin Cudjoe argued that if for nothing at all, the trial judge who adjudicated the matter was appointed by former President William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and accusing her of being politically biased defeats logic.
“By your own appointed Judge?,” he asked.
Also, the IMANI president said the NPP should rather be praising the judge for applying the law on galamsey passed by the NPP in 2019.
“You should be applauding the Judge appointed by NAADA for applying the punitive law on galamsey passed by you and your friends in 2019,” Franklin Cudjoe added.
He cautioned that “wayward commentaries such as this give more ammunition to those who want the Tribunals back and enhanced!”, expressing his opposition to the system. “I do not like Tribunals in Ghana!”
BREAKING: Accra High Court sentences Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment in Samraboi case
