NPP communicator Awal Mohammed has questioned the events surrounding Chairman Wontumi’s arrest and prosecution, arguing that the public perception created before the trial differed from the issues that emerged in court.
Awal said earlier statements and public discussions around illegal mining created the impression that Wontumi was directly involved in galamsey activities, but the court proceedings later focused on different issues.
“We all remember the Lands Minister’s first press conference where drone footage was shown of areas affected by galamsey, and Chairman Wontumi was presented as a major contributory factor,” he said in a post on Facebook.
According to him, the situation escalated when Wontumi was invited by the police and later arrested by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), an action he said led many people to believe the state had a strong case against him.
Awal, however, argued that during the trial, the prosecution acknowledged that Wontumi was not personally carrying out illegal mining activities.
“The Deputy AG openly admitted that Wontumi was not personally engaged in galamsey,” he said.
He added that this was the basis on which Wontumi’s legal team submitted a no-case application, arguing that the evidence presented by the state was insufficient for the trial to continue.
Awal said the rejection of that application and the eventual conviction raised questions about the direction of the case.
“Everything points to one clear conclusion: the state targeted Wontumi and rushed him to court on political propaganda,” he said.
