The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, says the conviction of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has deeply affected the party and its supporters.

According to him, Chairman Wontumi's position as the party's regional chairman in the NPP's strongest political base makes the judgment particularly significant, insisting that party members cannot treat the development lightly.

He added that the party remains unconvinced by the evidence presented during the trial and is eager to examine the court's written judgment to understand the basis of the conviction.

Mr Baffour Awuah further argued that the prosecution failed to present sufficient direct evidence to meet the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

He said the defence was surprised by the outcome of the trial, noting that the party intends to study the judgment carefully to understand how the court evaluated the evidence before deciding on the next course of action.

Speaking on Channel One TV's The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Monday, July 20, Mr Baffour Awuah said: "Wontumi is no ordinary person. He's the chairman of the party in the Ashanti Region, the largest constituency of the party, and so if anything like this has happened to him, definitely it is not something which is light. We can't take it lightly at all, and so it's something which has devastated us."

He added: "We as a party followed the proceedings, and we are very surprised because if you look at the evidence that was tendered, even though we are yet to see the judgment, we want to appreciate the basis upon which a court can convict on evidence which, in our view, was very porous... We are waiting to see the judgment, see how the judge evaluated the evidence and came to the conclusion that she has come to. If the record of proceedings we have is anything to go by, we think there has been a travesty."