Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai has explained why the state chose not to spend additional public resources searching for the second accused, Kwame Antwi in the Wontumi-Samreboi illegal mining case.
According to him, investigators concluded that further efforts to trace Kwame Antwi would not materially strengthen the prosecution’s case, especially after evidence suggested he had no active role in the company during the period the alleged offences were committed.
“If you are using public resource as a prosecutor, you need to look at cost-benefit analysis. We wanted maximum outcome with a minimum cost. And you don’t want to spend a lot of your resources looking for someone who will not add much to the case.
“A lot of economic analysis went into these cases,” Dr. Srem-Sai said.
He explained that prosecutors are required to use public resources prudently and therefore focused their investigations on evidence that would have the greatest impact on securing a conviction.
Dr. Srem-Sai noted that Wontumi told the court that Kwame Antwi had left Ghana around 2021 or 2022 and was not part of the management of Akonta Mining when the alleged offences occurred between 2024 and 2025.
According to the Deputy A-G, even if investigators had located and confirmed the identity of the second accused, his involvement in the case would have been limited because he was only listed as a director and was not actively involved in the company’s operations.
“We don’t want to spend a lot of your resources looking for someone who will not add much to the case,” he stated.
The Deputy Attorney-General further explained that prosecutors weighed the likely benefits of pursuing the individual against the financial and logistical cost of doing so before deciding to prioritise other aspects of the investigation.
“What we are trying the accused persons for happened in 2024 to 2025, so even if you go and establish that this is the person, apart from his role as a director, which he wasn’t even effectively a director anyway, what else are you going to do further to look for him and spend money to get him?” he said.
“We didn’t even focus on that but clearly there was suspicion that this person may not be real human being.”
Dr. Srem-Sai maintained that the decision reflected the state’s commitment to ensuring the efficient use of public funds while pursuing prosecutions that are supported by sufficient evidence.
