The High Court in Accra has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, after he failed to appear before the court on Tuesday without permission.
Presiding judge Justice Audrey Kocuvi-Tay ordered the arrest after noting that both Wontumi and his legal team were absent when the case was called at 9:40 a.m. on 28 October, with no explanation or excuse provided to the court.
The prosecution, led by Chief State Attorney Stella Ohene Appiah, was present for the day's proceedings, which were scheduled for the filing of disclosures and subsequent case management.
Justice Kocuvi-Tay expressed disappointment at the conduct of the accused and his lawyers, describing their absence as a disregard for the court's authority.
Chairman Wontumi is standing trial alongside Kwame Antwi, a director of Akonta Mining Limited, and the company itself. The three have been charged with assigning mineral rights without lawful approval, contrary to Ghana's mining regulations.
The court's order means that law enforcement agencies are to arrest and produce Wontumi before the court at the next sitting.
The case stems from allegations that Akonta Mining Limited engaged in mining activities in parts of the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Western Region without appropriate authorisation