AG Opposes Wontumi’s Bid to Delay Judgment in Samreboi Illegal Mining Trial
Prosecution argues new defence lawyer should obtain trial records from outgoing counsel, not the court registry, and urges the court to proceed with judgment without further delay.
- AG opposes delay in Wontumi's Samreboi illegal mining trial
- Prosecution says new counsel should obtain records from former lawyer
- State urges court to dismiss the application and proceed to judgment
The Office of the Attorney General has opposed an application seeking to delay judgment in the criminal trial of Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over alleged illegal mining activities at Samreboi.
The application was filed by lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea, who recently assumed legal representation for Chairman Wontumi. He is requesting additional time to obtain the trial records before judgment is delivered.
However, the Attorney General’s Office has urged the court to dismiss the application and allow the case to proceed without further delay.
According to the prosecution, Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Prempeh filed a 13-paragraph affidavit in opposition on Thursday, June 25, arguing that the request lacks merit because the accused has been represented by legal counsel throughout the trial.
The affidavit maintains that the withdrawal of Wontumi’s previous lawyer was voluntary and not due to any circumstances beyond counsel’s control. As a result, the prosecution contends that the new lawyer should obtain the necessary case records and briefings from the outgoing counsel rather than the court registry.
“In a 13-paragraph affidavit in opposition deposed to by Nana Ama Prempeh, a Senior State Attorney, and filed this afternoon, the Attorney General strongly argues that the accused person having been represented by counsel throughout the trial and that counsel only withdrew voluntarily and not for cause, the proper source for a new lawyer to procure the records of and any brief or briefing on the case is the outgoing counsel and not the Court’s Registry,” the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Secretariat stated in a Facebook post.
The prosecution further argues that Mr. Atta Akyea’s request to obtain the records directly from the court registry, instead of through previous counsel, was not made in good faith. It has therefore asked the court to reject the application and proceed with the delivery of judgment.
