Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been released from police custody after meeting bail conditions totalling 25 million Ghana cedis.
Wontumi, who spent three nights in detention, had been granted bail in two separate illegal mining cases before the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra.
The first court imposed a 15 million cedi bail with two sureties, while the second added a 10 million cedi bail, also with two sureties — one to be justified with landed property.
The court further directed him to report to investigators weekly for a month and barred him from travelling outside Ghana without permission.
The regional chairman faces multiple charges, including unlawfully engaging in mining operations and facilitating environmental damage in the Tano Nimire Forest Reserve. He has pleaded not guilty.
Wontumi was detained on 7 October after failing to initially meet his bail conditions.
The case forms part of a broader government crackdown on illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, which has been blamed for widespread environmental degradation across the country.
Source: Assaseradio.com
