The incarcerated Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako – widely known as Chairman Wontumi – has formally tendered an apology to President John Dramani Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama, while making a direct appeal for executive clemency.
The apology, which was conveyed through his spokesperson, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, in an interview with Citi FM on Monday, relates to derogatory remarks Wontumi made about the President and the First Lady during the heat of the 2024 general election campaign. The move is being interpreted as a strategic goodwill gesture aimed at softening the ground for a potential pardon from the President.
Wontumi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after a Criminal Court 4 Division of the High Court found him guilty on all six charges relating to illegal mining activities. The conviction, handed down earlier this year, stemmed from operations on a concession belonging to Akonta Mining Limited at Samreboi in the Western Region. He was prosecuted alongside the company and a third accused person, Kwame Antwi.
According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully assigned mineral rights on the concession without the requisite approval from the sector minister and facilitated mining operations without the proper authorisation, contravening the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
In his public plea, Boakye-Danquah stressed that Wontumi’s primary objective was reconciliation. “The first call is to render an apology, and I think that is important. Former Chairman renders an apology to him if, at some stage, the conversations went overboard, which was never intended,” he stated.
However, the spokesperson was careful to distance the apology from any suggestion of judicial malfeasance. He insisted that the plea should not be construed as an admission that political differences between Wontumi and President Mahama had tainted the legal process leading to the conviction. “Not at all. We are aware that in this country there are influences. If you are able to identify those influences and begin making amends, I think we build a better society for all of us to live in,” Boakye-Danquah added, clarifying that the appeal for forgiveness was meant to foster national cohesion rather than insinuate prosecutorial bias.
Wontumi’s legal team is now banking on Article 72 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which grants the President the prerogative of mercy to pardon convicted persons or commute sentences. The appeal comes at a politically sensitive time, as Wontumi remains a towering figure in the NPP’s Ashanti Region stronghold, and his imprisonment has sparked debates among party loyalists about the fairness of the prosecution.
Political analysts note that the apology to the Mahamas, coupled with the clemency request, could test the President’s commitment to depoliticising the judiciary. Meanwhile, the NPP leadership has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, though party insiders suggest the apology may help to de-escalate tensions between the opposition and the ruling administration.
As the 20-year sentence runs its course, all eyes will be on the Presidency to see whether Wontumi’s overture will translate into a reduction of his jail term or a full pardon. For now, the convicted politician remains incarcerated, waiting on the mercy of a man he once fiercely criticised on the campaign trail.
