By J.A Sabah
Wontumi is Not Facing the Law. He is Being Used to Cover Up for NDC Criminals and the Galamsey Cartel – Those Who Believe Governance Itself Must Be Staged.
Four years after the alleged offence. Five arrests. Three courts. Seventy-five million cedis in bail. One passport seized, then demanded again. And Bernard Antwi-Boasiako – Chairman Wontumi – remains in custody while the excavators he allegedly owns sit idle, as those owned by ruling party members continue tearing through Ghana’s forests.
Welcome to Ghana’s two-tiered justice system – where the outcome of a case depends on who you are, whom you offend, and whose interests your freedom threatens.
The Presidential Script
Last week, Civil Society Organisations met President Mahama to demand decisive action against the worsening galamsey crisis. Their evidence pointed directly at the ruling party’s complicity.
The President’s response was chillingly specific:
“Chairman Wontumi will be charged next week.”
Not a plan to stop the excavators poisoning our rivers today. Not a directive to apprehend the financiers operating under political protection. Just a commitment to punish one political opponent – for an alleged offence four years past.
True to the script, the arrest followed right on schedule. And before the courts could even sit, the Deputy Attorney General, Justice Srem-Sai stood before cameras and declared Wontumi guilty – violating every principle of sub judice and the presumption of innocence.
The sequence was flawless in its orchestration: Presidential announcement → Timely arrest → Extra-judicial conviction.
This is not due process. It is political theatre – directed from the JubileeHouse.
The Legal Pantomime
While this drama unfolds, the courts perform their part with tragic precision:
The state already holds Wontumi’s passport, yet another judge demands its surrender.
He remains on secured bail, yet must secure fresh bail for the same allegation.
Police delays persist even after full compliance with all conditions.
This judicial repetition mocks due process itself. The state is not building a case – it is conducting a harassment campaign dressed in the robes of legality.
Constitutional Betrayal
Article 17 of Ghana’s Constitution guarantees equality before the law. Yet in practice, we operate dual regimes: It is branded “galamsey” for opponents, and “community mining” for NDC allies and party boys.
We now have two mining systems, two legal systems, and one national shame. When justice bends to power, the Constitution becomes decorative – a prop, not a protection.
The Real Judgment
While our courts debate passports and bail conditions:
Mercury still flows into the Pra River.
Atewa’s forest canopy continues to fall.
The true offenders remain untouched, shielded by proximity to power.
This is no longer the rule of law. It is the rule by law – where legality becomes weapon, and justice becomes choreography.
Our courtrooms now stage solemn rituals of fairness while the forests burn and the rivers die.
The Way Out
Reform must begin with courage, not convenience. Ghana must:
Insulate prosecutions from presidential influence. Demand that the Attorney General uphold the sanctity of sub judice. Establish a genuinely independent anti-galamsey task force.
Restore the judiciary’s constitutional independence and moral authority.
Until then, law will remain paperwork. Justice will remain propaganda. And our forests will keep falling – to the synchronised rhythm of political promises and judicial compliance
J. A. Sarbah
