Some leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region are outraged over the 20-year jail term handed to the party’s Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.

They characterized the ruling as excessive, unjust, and politically motivated.

The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, convicted and sentenced Wontumi for illegal mining activities on the Samreboi concession in the Western Region.

The ruling has triggered strong reactions within the NPP, with party executives calling for calm while vowing to explore all legal avenues to overturn the decision.

Reacting to the development in an interview with Adom News, former Bosomtwe NPP Chairman and a relative of Wontumi, Aikens Addai-Poku, said he was shocked by the judgement.

“I am shocked by the news and I don’t even know what to say. Chairman Wontumi doesn’t deserve that jail term. Tell me, what did he do to deserve two decades of imprisonment?” he asked.

Mr. Addai-Poku alleged that the sentence was part of a broader agenda to target opposition figures.

"To me, this is political witch-hunting against members of the opposition. The NDC is using the courts to silence us,” he claimed.

He further accused members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of engaging in more destructive illegal mining activities across the country, and stated that the government has failed to crack down on them.

“I am saying that Wontumi has been sentenced for nothing. The NDC are the ones engaged in galamsey, and they are doing it on a larger scale. They are operating in my constituency. Go and see for yourself the extent of their illegal mining activities,” he alleged.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Mr. Addai-Poku said the lawyers for Chairman Wontumi and the party’s legal team will collaborate to determine the next line of action.

The Ashanti Regional Treasurer of the NPP, Hajia Zainab Sallow, also expressed disappointment over the ruling.

She said she was yet to receive full details of the judgement and lacked a legal background to comment extensively. However, she affirmed her confidence in the party’s leadership.

“I believe the national leadership and our legal counsel will do everything possible to secure the freedom of our regional chairman. We will not abandon him,” she said.

Meanwhile, an aspiring NPP Communications Director for the Ashanti Region, Kyei Bobbie, has gone a step further, calling on President John Dramani Mahama to grant a presidential pardon to Chairman Wontumi.

In his statement, Mr. Bobbie argued that the sentence was too harsh and risked deepening political tensions in the country.