Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay has pushed the ruling on Chairman Wontumi’s bail pending appeal application to November 4, 2026, after lawyers for the former Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman and the Attorney General’s office clashed over whether he should get temporary freedom while fighting his conviction.
Bernard Antwi Bosiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is serving a 20-year sentence for permitting unapproved mining activities on his Samreboi concession. He wants out on bail while the Court of Appeal reviews his conviction and sentence.
Lead counsel Samuel Atta Akyea told the court Thursday that Wontumi needs his temporary release to properly prepare the appeal and keep up with two other pending criminal cases. He argued his client isn’t a flight risk, pointing to his record of sticking to bail conditions before conviction.
Atta Akyea also leaned on the 19 grounds of appeal filed in the notice, insisting they carry a reasonable chance of success that should tip the scales toward bail.
State says nothing exceptional here
Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem-Sai wasn’t convinced. He argued the appeal grounds were nothing unusual, the kind any convicted person might raise, and that case law demands exceptional circumstances before bail pending appeal is granted, circumstances he said simply don’t exist here.
On the flight-risk question, Srem-Sai pushed back on the idea that past courtroom behaviour tells you much about future conduct, especially with more potential prison time stacking up from Wontumi’s other cases.
Then came the sharper jab. Srem-Sai referenced a video involving Wontumi’s former lawyer, who allegedly spoke about a plan for Wontumi to run over law enforcement officers to dodge arrest. He used that clip to bolster the state’s opposition.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay, who handed down the conviction in July, pressed Atta Akyea on how far the appeal had progressed. He said the records of appeal were being compiled for transmission to the Court of Appeal.
With arguments closed, the judge adjourned matters to November 4, when she’s expected to decide whether Wontumi walks free while his case moves through the appellate process.
