Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, says the conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, should inspire more journalists, activists and citizens to intensify the fight against illegal mining.

Speaking on JoyNews Today on Monday, Dr Ashigbey described the court's decision as a significant moment in the campaign against galamsey.

He expressed hope that it would encourage greater public commitment to demanding accountability from those responsible for protecting the country's natural resources.

"So we'll be hoping that this would create the impetus for us to demand a lot more. As you said yourself, the EOCO report, we need to be able to see that. And all the people who are involved in galamsey... You know, once you are implicated in it, you need to be punished," he said.

Dr Ashigbey stressed that the verdict should not mark the end of the country's anti-illegal mining efforts but rather serve as renewed motivation to push for stronger enforcement of the law.

According to him, Ghanaians should seize the moment to demand more from political leaders, law enforcement agencies and state institutions responsible for investigating, prosecuting and sanctioning persons implicated in illegal mining.

He argued that the fight against galamsey can only succeed if the law is applied consistently and without fear or favour, regardless of a suspect's political or social standing.

His comments come in the wake of the conviction of Chairman Wontumi in a high-profile illegal mining case involving Akonta Mining Limited.

Wontumi and his company were prosecuted over allegations that they permitted two individuals to undertake mining activities on the company's concession at Samreboi in the Western Region without the required ministerial approval and facilitated unlicensed mining operations.

Throughout the trial, Wontumi denied all the charges and maintained that any illegal mining on the concession was carried out without his knowledge.

The case, which attracted nationwide attention because of Wontumi's position as the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), went through months of hearings.

The High Court dismissed a submission of no case by the defence, ordered Wontumi to open his defence, and later postponed judgment from July 3 to July 20 to allow his new legal team additional time to file written submissions.

The court subsequently convicted Wontumi and sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment.

Dr Ashigbey said he hopes the verdict will encourage journalists, civil society organisations and ordinary citizens to sustain pressure on authorities to pursue all illegal mining cases with the same level of commitment.