Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has expressed doubts about the prospects of an appeal by the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), following his conviction and 20-year prison sentence.

Speaking on Joy FM's News Night on Monday, July 20, Mr Kpebu said, in his assessment of the case, he had not identified any compelling legal grounds that could lead an appellate court to overturn the High Court's decision.

Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment after being convicted by the High Court in connection with illegal mining activities. His legal team has indicated its intention to appeal the decision, while the NPP has maintained that the conviction was unsupported by the evidence and should be overturned by the appellate courts.

Mr Kpebu's comments come after the NPP announced plans to challenge the conviction, describing the judgment as a "travesty of justice" and insisting the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr Kpebu, however, said his reading of the case pointed in a different direction.

"This one, maybe I have a biased mind. It's difficult. It's difficult to really appreciate and come out with a strong ground of appeal for Wontumi," he said.

"I think I see it as a one-way street, and in this one, he (Chairman Wontumi) is guilty as charged."

The legal practitioner acknowledged that lawyers often approach cases differently when acting for a client but indicated that, based on his current assessment, he could not identify a convincing basis for reversing the conviction.

Mr Kpebu further disclosed that he would not have accepted instructions to represent Chairman Wontumi because he had previously been involved in efforts to have allegations against him investigated.

"I can never even be a lawyer on his side, no. Because, you know, we had earlier on presented a petition against him."

According to him, a petition, which he said was filed in 2022 during the Akufo-Addo administration, has yet to be conclusively dealt with.

Mr Kpebu alleged that the matter did not receive the necessary attention at the time because of the NPP regional chairman's political influence.

"Our petition has been pending since 2022. That was in the Akufo-Addo administration, and it's because of Wontumi's political power, immense political power; the CID office at the time didn't do much about it because of the obvious political influence."

He stressed that his previous involvement in the matter informed his perspective on the case and his assessment of the likelihood of a successful appeal.

"So you see that because I'm not on Wontumi's side, I can't really see what grounds of appeal I would do for him. I mean, you said a strong one. You didn't say what grounds can be formulated, but you meant a strong one. So I'm looking at what can get him free. I don't see one."