Martin Kpebu Sees No Strong Grounds to Overturn Chairman Wontumi's Conviction

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal mining activities.

Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, has expressed doubts about the prospects of an appeal by Chairman Wontumi following his conviction. Speaking on Joy FM’s News Night, Mr. Kpebu said he had not identified any compelling legal grounds that could lead an appellate court to overturn the High Court’s decision.

Chairman Wontumi’s legal team has indicated its intention to appeal the decision, while the NPP has maintained that the conviction was unsupported by the evidence and should be overturned by the appellate courts. However, Mr. Kpebu’s assessment of the case suggests otherwise.

“I think I see it as a one-way street, and in this one, he (Chairman Wontumi) is guilty as charged,” Mr. Kpebu said. He acknowledged that lawyers often approach cases differently when acting for a client but indicated that, based on his current assessment, he could not identify a convincing basis for reversing the conviction.

Mr. Kpebu further disclosed that he would not have accepted instructions to represent Chairman Wontumi because he had previously been involved in efforts to have allegations against him investigated. “I can never even be a lawyer on his side, no. Because, you know, we had earlier on presented a petition against him,” he said.

A petition filed in 2022, during the Akufo-Addo administration, has yet to be conclusively dealt with. Mr. Kpebu alleged that the matter did not receive the necessary attention at the time because of the NPP regional chairman’s political influence. “Our petition has been pending since 2022. That was in the Akufo-Addo administration, and it’s because of Wontumi’s political power, immense political power; the CID office at the time didn’t do much about it because of the obvious political influence,” he said.

Mr. Kpebu’s previous involvement in the matter informed his perspective on the case and his assessment of the likelihood of a successful appeal. “So you see that because I’m not on Wontumi’s side, I can’t really see what grounds of appeal I would do for him. I mean, you said a strong one. You didn’t say what grounds can be formulated, but you meant a strong one. So I’m looking at what can get him free. I don’t see one,” he said.

The outcome of Chairman Wontumi’s appeal remains to be seen. However, Martin Kpebu’s assessment of the case suggests that the NPP regional chairman may face an uphill battle in his efforts to overturn the conviction.

Source: JOY