Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, has described the conviction and sentencing of Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, as a landmark moment in Ghana's fight against illegal mining, insisting that the judgment should signal the beginning of a broader crackdown on politically exposed persons implicated in galamsey.

Speaking on JoyNews on Monday, July 20, shortly after the Accra High Court sentenced Chairman Wontumi to 20 years' imprisonment over illegal mining activities on the Samreboi concession in the Western Region, Dr Ashigbey said the verdict represented a significant victory not only for the country but also for years of advocacy by anti-galamsey campaigners.

Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, presiding over the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court, sentenced Wontumi to 20 years in prison and imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢120,000.

The court further ruled that failure to pay the fine would attract an additional three-year custodial sentence.

Reacting to the judgment, Dr Ashigbey said the decision demonstrated that persistent advocacy and sustained public pressure could compel state institutions to act against influential individuals accused of environmental crimes.

"This is a good day for Ghana. This is a good day for Ghana, the Media Coalition Against Galamsey and the Coalition Against Galamsey in Ghana, and for all who want to see the back of this existential threat that confronts all of us as citizens," he declared.

Dr Ashigbey disclosed that the Samreboi case was among several petitions submitted by the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining to state authorities, adding that campaigners had monitored the matter from its inception to its conclusion.

According to him, the coalition formally petitioned the then Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police, while he personally joined private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu and two other campaigners in pursuing the matter.

"This is one case that the coalition petitioned. We petitioned the then Attorney-General, the then Inspector-General of Police, and personally, together with Martin Kpebu and two others, we also petitioned. We've been following it through all this while," he said.

He praised the current Attorney-General for prosecuting the matter to its conclusion, while also commending Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay for what he described as her courage in handling one of Ghana's most closely watched illegal mining prosecutions.

"I am happy and I think we also need to commend the Attorney-General for seeing this case through. We also want to commend the judge who sat on this case for demonstrating courage," he stated.

Dr Ashigbey also acknowledged the role played by the current Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, recalling how the minister convened an emergency press conference during the Easter holidays in 2025 after reviewing the coalition's petition.

"I remember Easter Sunday of 2025. I was in my home village of Tsiame when he called because we needed an urgent press conference. He had looked into the petition that we had submitted, carried out investigations and subsequently presented his report to the appropriate authorities," he recounted.

He further praised the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources for being the first public official to openly state that Akonta Mining Company Limited had engaged in illegal mining activities within the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.

According to him, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, subsequently confirmed the allegations, although he expressed disappointment that the authorities at the time failed to prosecute the case.

"The former minister publicly declared that Akonta Mining was involved in illegality in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve. Martin Ayisi also confirmed it. Unfortunately, the Attorney-General then and the police prosecutors did not prosecute, and we kept pushing," he noted.

While welcoming the conviction, Dr Ashigbey insisted that Ghana's campaign against illegal mining would remain incomplete if only one politically exposed person faced prosecution.

He reminded Ghanaians that President John Dramani Mahama, while campaigning ahead of the 2024 general election, had argued that the fight against galamsey would achieve little unless influential financiers and political actors behind the practice were brought to justice.

"It is great that we are dealing with one campaigner, but what has happened to the other politically exposed persons who were named in Professor Frimpong-Boateng's report?" he questioned.

He also called for updates on investigations into other politically connected individuals allegedly implicated in illegal mining, arguing that accountability should not be selective.

"There are several politically exposed persons who are involved in galamsey. There are Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives demonstrating either complicity or incompetence. There are chiefs who have openly been accused of involvement, and there have been public statements by eminent national figures indicating that some parliamentarians are facilitating illegal mining. What is happening to all these cases?" he asked.

Although he welcomed the 20-year prison sentence, Dr Ashigbey said he would have preferred the court to impose the maximum custodial sentence permitted under the law.

"I would have wished that the judge had given the maximum sentence of 25 years and also imposed the maximum fine," he stated.

He argued that illegal mining should be regarded as a grave offence because of its devastating environmental, economic and public health consequences.

According to him, illegal mining has contributed to flooding, widespread pollution of water bodies, the destruction of agricultural lands and serious health complications affecting communities across the country.

"The reason why we need to be drastic in sentencing the big financiers involved in galamsey is that what they do amounts to mass murder," he said.

"If somebody had taken a gun and shot another person, we would be demanding the maximum sentence. These people contribute to flooding, people are dying from kidney diseases, children are being born with deformities, pregnant women suffer complications, and they destroy our rivers, forests and agricultural lands."

Dr Ashigbey further argued that illegal mining threatens Ghana's long-term economic future by contaminating cocoa farms and other agricultural produce with heavy metals, thereby undermining exports and food security.

Describing the financiers of illegal mining as "economic saboteurs" and "nation wreckers", he maintained that the law must be applied without fear or favour regardless of political affiliation, social status or traditional authority.

"This is just the beginning. If we are truly going to deal decisively with galamsey, then we must ensure that all the powerful people who continue to profit from destroying our environment are also investigated, prosecuted and, where found guilty, punished in accordance with the law."

He expressed hope that the Wontumi conviction would serve as a strong deterrent to others engaged in illegal mining and mark a turning point in Ghana's efforts to protect its forests, rivers and future generations from the devastating effects of galamsey.