Musician cum politician, Kwame A Plus, has asked Ghanaians to get ready for many judgement debts after a Kumasi High Court slapped the government with a $15.3 million fine for the unlawful seizure of excavators.

The excavators belong to a mining company, Heritage Imperial Limited.

"Get ready for many judgment debts soon. Are you not amazed that a President, who is a lawyer, supported and stated at no other place than the sod cutting of the law village that he supports such illegality when he knew very well that the state will pay?"

According to his Facebook wall, the decision by government to burn mining equipment is, "not the brightest bulb in the box and anyone who supports that action has either lost grey matter or are simply ding-bats, ignorant about judicial remedies, educated fools or misinformed individuals."

A Kumasi High Court has ruled that the Government of Ghana has to pay over 15 million dollars (about 90 million Ghana Cedis) judgment debt for confiscating and not being able to account for mining equipment belonging to Heritage Imperial Limited.

It has also ordered that government pays the mining company, Heritage Imperial Limited an amount of GH¢600,000.

On December 6, 2018, company’s concession was raided by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Illegal Mining under the suspicion of engaging in activities outside their mandate.

According to the task force, the company had been mining illegally even though the license granted them only allowed for prospecting.

In court, lawyers for the mining firm argued that they procured a prospecting mining licence from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on October 25, 2018.

The plaintiffs say they stuck to this commitment until the raid was conducted on their concession by the task force during which their excavators and other equipment were confiscated in December that same year.

In its ruling on May 18, 2021, the court deemed the action on the site against Heritage Imperial Mining Company as unlawful, adding that no evidence had been advanced by the task force to back their claims of illegality on the company’s part.

The court, presided by Justice Samuel Obeng Diawuo, also held that the move by the task force on the said day flies in the face of the mandate within which they were to operate in the fight against illegal mining in the country.

It further concluded that the company also permitted other entities to invade the concession and mine from the plaintiff’s concession.