The judicial chronicle of Akonta Mining Company Limited and its directing mind, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, famously known as Chairman Wontumi, presents one of the most revealing case
The report indicates that samartex Timber & Plywood Company Ltd v. Akonta Mining Services (Suit No. E1/5/22)
It further notes that the judicial chronicle of Akonta Mining Company Limited and its directing mind, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, famously known as Chairman Wontumi, presents one of the most revealing case studies in modern Ghanaian natural resource litigation. Reading these decisions side by side reveals a striking pattern: Chairman Wontumi’s operational fixation on the forest reserves and riverbanks of Samreboi is neither recent nor incidental. It spans over a decade of continuous friction with local communities, state regulators, and private commercial interest holders.
In my first analysis, I examined the July 20, 2026 criminal prosecution, which resulted in a historic 20-year prison sentence under Sections 14 and 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by Act 995. In the second installment, I reviewed the 2019 judgment in the civil suit, where Justice Richard Adjei-Frimpong detailed how Wontumi’s earlier illegal Samreboi operations led to the destruction of the Tano River environment and held that state security forces acting out of public necessity could not be held liable in tort.
In this third chapter, a judgment delivered on May 19, 2023, by Her Ladyship Afia N. Adu-Amankwa at the High Court in Sekondi (Suit No. E1/5/22), we see the civil-law precursor to Wontumi’s persistent footprint in Samreboi. It bridges the gap between private land rights and public constitutional restraints, demonstrating that even when Akonta Mining attempted to formalise its Samreboi presence through executive government leases, it continued to bypass mandatory legal checkpoints.
The Court held that a mining lease signed by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources does not confer an immediate or absolute right to occupy land or conduct mining operations. Without explicit Parliamentary ratification under Article 268(1) of the 1992 Constitution and mandatory environmental permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Forestry Commission under Section 18(1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), any physical entry onto private or stool-leased land constitutes an actionable civil trespass. Consequently, leases remain inchoate and legally invalid prior to parliamentary ratification (this was reaffirmed in Exton Cubic Group Limited), and pre-existing surface rights continue to co-exist alongside unexecuted mineral rights.
The Plaintiff, Samartex Timber & Plywood Company Ltd, is a timber manufacturing giant with decades-long industrial roots in Samreboi. Samartex held a 50-year registered deed of lease (dated January 1, 2012) granted by the Asankragwa Agona Royal Stool over 1,112.55 acres. Over the years, Samartex established vast corporate infrastructure on the land, including sawmills, worker bungalows, schools, a hospital, a water treatment plant, and a licensed private airstrip.
The Defendant, Akonta Mining Services (owned, financed, and directed by Bernard Antwi Boasiako @ Chairman Wontumi), made yet another aggressive entry into Samreboi. Re-entering the same geographic theatre where his operations were raided in 2013, Wontumi relied on two new mining leasehold agreements executed with the Government of Ghana on July 23, 2021.
Upon entering Samartex’s leased land, Akonta Mining excavated portions of the earth, set up a gold washing plant and a settling dam, mounted barricades across private roads built by Samartex, and deployed security guards within the 200-meter exclusive safety buffer zone of Samartex’s airstrip, severely disrupting local utility lines.
When confronted, Akonta Mining denied committing trespass and filed a counterclaim seeking:
To determine whether Chairman Wontumi’s company could lawfully displace Samartex’s long-standing occupancy, the court grounded its reasoning in constitutional mandates, statutory provisions, and binding judicial precedents:
1. Article 257(6) of the 1992 Constitution & Vesting of Minerals
The court recognised the foundational constitutional principle governing mineral ownership:
“Every mineral in its natural state in, under or upon land in Ghana, rivers, streams, water courses throughout the country, the exclusive economic zone and any area covered by the territorial sea or continental shelf is the property of the Republic of Ghana and is vested in the President on behalf of, and in trust for the people of Ghana.”
2. Article 268(1) & Section 5(4) of Act 703 – Parliamentary ratification
