
Who be di Ghana opposition party businessman 'Chairman Wontumi' wey authorities dey pursue?
Police and di economic and organised crime office (EOCO) dey pursue one ogbonge opposition party chairman ova plenti allegations.
Bernard Antwi Boasiako (alias Chairman Wontumi) bin dey under pressure as di state dey chase am about im involvement for illegal mining (galamsey) and oda financial crimes.
Dem bin rush di Ashanti regional chairman of di opposition NPP to hospital afta im allegedly fall sick during interrogation by EOCO.
Dem arrest Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias "chairman Wontumi" on Tuesday afta im report to di police CID office, a day afta dem grant am bail wit two sureties.
Di businessman chop accuse say im dey involve for illegal mining (galamsey), im dey pollute water bodies and also entering forest reserve without authorization wit im mining company.
Last week, security pipo don go im house for Kumasi wit search warrant but oga Wontumi im private security no allow di officers to enter di house - but im gree to report imsef for di police station on Monday 26 May.
Na so officers from EOCO don arrest di controversial opposition party chairman afta im visit di police CID Tuesday afternoon.
Party supporters and dia leaders gather wia dem spend di night for EOCO office to demand di release of dia chairman.
Dem cause kasala wit police and soldiers for dia wia some bin burn tyres wia dem dey chant.
Afta six hours of interrogation, Oga Wontumi say im fall sick wia dem rush am to hospital.
Im lawyer Andy Appiah Kubi confam say, "we neva finish di interrogation bifor my client fall sick, na so dem carry am go hospital."
"If dem bin treat am wey im dey fit, we go come back to continue di interrogation, unless di doctors tok say im no dey well."
Di arrest of chairman Wontumi dey in connection wit anoda mata different from di illegal mining allegations.
Im lawyer say "we don receive anoda writ of summons by Exim Bank wey we go respond to di mata, we go mount defence for our client – dis na civil mata, but for di ones wey be criminal case, we go mount defence for oga Wontumi."
Party leaders and di supporters tok say di way dem arrest dia chairman, no good.
National youth organiser Salam Mustapha say di way dem arrest dia party member na "rambo-style."
"Dis na democracy, di goment no fit to use state security to intimidate political opponents. Why dem go arrest pesin dis way? Dem fit to invite am wey im go present imsef. But to treat pesin like dis, na unfair."
Oga Wontumi no be di only officer for di opposition party wey dey under investigation for various allegations of corruption
Di former signals bureau boss Kwabena Adu-Boahene and im wife dey under trial say dem allegedly cause financial loss to di state wey dem also divert state funds.
Di former director and di board chairman for di Ghana infrastructure and minerals fund (GIIF) also bin dey before court ova one $2m sky train mata.
Di attorney general bin dey pursue oda former goment appointees ova alleged corruption among oda tins.
Who be chairman Wontumi and why e dey popular?
Chairman Wontumi na ogbonge pesin for di new patriotic party (NPP) – wey im be di chairman of di party for dia stronghold di Ashanti Region.
Im dey popular sake of some of di tins im dey tok and how im dey handle tins.
Im na old student of Prempeh College.
Di businessman man get plenty businesses – im get mining companies, im dey for di construction and oda industries.
For 2022, im declare say im wan buy Chelsea football club; im tok say im submit $3.1bn bid to buy di English club.
Di businessman also bin get media business – wit TV and radio station.
Three years ago, im carry wetin im describe as "pure gold" to im station wia im display for live TV.
"Dis na solid moni, dis na pure gold, we no dey joke for dis kontri. Solid moni," chairman Wontumi tok as im dey display five bars of gold for di TV.
Chairman Wontumi na one of di financiers of im party – na so im dey so powerful, especially during di last eight years under di NPP goment.
Many civil society groups bin dey petition di police CID under di Nana Akufo-Addo goment say Chairman Wontumi im mining companies dey involve for illegal mining for di forest reserves.
But di president at di time, Nana Akufo-Addo tok say di chairman company no dey involve for illegal mining even though di minister for lands and natural resources at di time, Samuel Abu Jinapor confam say di party chairman im company dey involve for illegal mining.
Di environmental groups bin petition di police CID again dis year afta di elections say make di police investigate am, na dat be one of di reasons wey dem invite am to di CID headquarters.
Despite im popularity for di NPP, im dey divide opinion among di party leadership.
Im wan rise from im post as Ashanti regional chairman to become di national chairman of di opposition party.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Ghana consumer inflation slows to 18.4% year-on-year in May, stats agency says
ACCRA, June 4 (Reuters) - Ghana's consumer inflation slowed to 18.4.% year-on-year in May compared with 21.2% a month earlier, the country's statistics agency said on Wednesday.


Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Fitch downgrades Afreximbank to one notch above 'junk'
LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Fitch downgraded Afreximbank's credit rating to one notch above junk on Wednesday, with a negative outlook, citing high credit risks and weak risk-management policies. The one-notch downgrade to BBB- comes as the African lender battles to protect its loans from restructuring in Ghana, Zambia and Malawi, claiming that as a multilateral lender it has preferred creditor status. Fitch pegged Afreximbank's non-performing loans at above 6%, while the bank itself reported an NPL ratio of 2.44% in the first half. "The revision of risk management to 'weak' reflects low transparency in the recent reporting of loan performance relative to multilateral development bank peers and that Fitch's definition of NPLs differs from the bank's approach, which makes use of flexibilities offered by IFRS 9," Fitch said. A lower credit rating can increase the borrowing cost for an issuer, which can in turn impact how much they can lend and at what rates. Fitch attributed the negative outlook, which effectively puts the bank on downgrade watch, to the risk that some of its debt to sovereign borrowers might be included in restructuring. "This would put pressure on our assessment of the bank's policy importance and heighten the risk associated with its strategy," Fitch said. Afreximbank did not immediately comment on the downgrade.


BBC News
19 hours ago
- BBC News
South Africa illegal mining: The hunt for alleged Stilfontein kingpin Tiger
Nobody in South Africa seems to know where Tiger 42-year-old from neighbouring Lesotho, whose real name is James Neo Tshoaeli, has evaded a police manhunt for the past four after being accused of controlling the illegal operations at an abandoned gold mine near Stilfontein in South Africa, where 78 corpses were discovered underground in January, Tiger escaped custody, police policemen, alleged to have aided his breakout, are out on bail and awaiting trial, but the authorities appear no closer to learning the fugitive's went to Lesotho to find out more about this elusive man and to hear from those affected by the subterranean home is near the city of Mokhotlong, a five-hour drive from the capital, Maseru, on the road that skirts the nation's mountains. We visit his elderly mother, Mampho Tshoaeli, and his younger brother, Tiger, Thabiso decided to stay at home and rear sheep for a living, rather than join the illegal miners, known as zama zamas, in South of them has seen Tiger in eight years."He was a friendly child to everyone," Ms Tshoaeli recalls. "He was peaceful even at school, his teachers never complained about him. So generally, he was a good person," she five years younger than Tiger, says they both used to look after the family sheep when they were children."When we were growing up he wanted to be a policeman. That was his dream. But that never happened because, when our father passed away, he had to become the head of the family."Tiger, who was 21 at the time, decided to follow in his father's footsteps and headed to South Africa to work in a mine - but not in the formal sector."It was really hard for me," says his mother. "I really felt worried for him because he was still fragile and young at that time. Also because I was told that to go down into the mine, they used a makeshift lift."He would come back when he got time off or for Christmas. And during that first stint as a zama zama his mother said he was the family's main provider."He really supported us a lot. He was supporting me, giving me everything, even his siblings. He made sure that they had clothes and food."The last time his family saw or heard from him was in 2017 when he left Lesotho with his then wife. Shortly after, the couple separated."I thought maybe he'd remarried, and his second wife wasn't allowing him to come back home," she says sadly."I've been asking: 'Where is my son?'"The first time I heard he was a zama zama at Stilfontein, I was told by my son. He came to my house holding his phone and he showed me the news on social media and explained that they were saying he escaped from the police." The police say several illegal miners described him as one of the Stilfontein ring mother does not believe he could have been in this position and says seeing the coverage of him has been upsetting."It really hurts me a lot because I think maybe he will die there, or maybe he has died already, or if he's lucky to come back home, maybe I won't be here. I'll be among the dead."A friend of Tiger's from Stilfontein, who only wants to be identified as Ayanda, tells me they used to share food and cigarettes before supplies dwindled. He also casts doubt on the "ringleader" label, saying that Tiger was more middle management."He was a boss underground, but he's not a top boss. He was like a supervisor, someone who could manage the situation where we were working."Mining researcher Makhotla Sefuli thinks it was unlikely that Tiger was at the top of the illegal mining syndicate in Stilfontein. He says those in charge never work underground."The illegal mining trade is like a pyramid with many tiers. We always pay attention to the bottom tier, which is the workers. They are the ones who are underground."But there is a second layer… they supply cash to the illegal miners."Then you've got the buyers… they buy [the gold] from those who are supplying cash to the illegal miners."At the top are "some very powerful" people, with "close proximity to top politicians". These people make the most money, but do not get their hands dirty in the mines. Supang Khoaisanyane was one of those at the bottom of the pyramid and he paid with his 39-year-old's body was among those discovered in the disused gold mine in January. He, like many of the others who perished, had migrated to South into his village, Bobete, in the Thaba-Tseka district, feels like stepping back in journey there is full of crossing a rickety bridge barely wide enough to hold our car, we are faced with a long drive up unpaved mountain roads with no safety than once it feels likely we will not make it to the when we do, the scenery is pristine. Seemingly untouched by of small, thatched huts, their walls made from mountain stone, dot the rolling green hills. Right next door to the late Supang's family home is the unfinished house he was building for his wife and three children. Unlike most of the dwellings in the village, the house is made of cement, but it is missing a roof, windows and empty spaces are an unintentional memorial to a man who wanted to help his family."He left the village because he was struggling," his aunt Mabolokang Khoaisanyane tells me. Next to her Supang's wife and one of his children lay down on a mattress on the floor, staring sadly into space."He was trying to find money in Stilfontein, to feed his family, and to put some roofing on his house," Ms Khoaisanyane house was built with money raised from a previous work trip to South Africa by Supang - a trip that many of those from Lesotho have made over the decades drawn by the opportunities of the much richer aunt adds that before he left the second time, three years ago, his job prospects at home were non-existent."It's very terrible here, that's why he left. Because here all you can do is work on short government projects. But you work for a short time and then that's it."This landlocked country - entirely surrounded by South Africa - is one of the poorest in the world. Unemployment stands at 30% but for young people the rate is almost 50%, according to official family say they did not realise he was working as a zama zama until a relative called them to say he had died thought he had been working in construction and had not heard from him since he left Bobete in Khoaisanyane says that during the phone call, they were told that what caused the deaths of most of those underground in Stilfontein was a lack of food and water. Many of the more than 240 who were rescued came out very made global headlines late last year when the police implemented a controversial new strategy to crack down on illegal restricted the flow of food and water into the mine in an attempt to "smoke out" the workers, as one South African minister put January, a court order forced the government to launch a rescue operation. Supang's family say they understand what he was doing was illegal but they disagree with how the authorities dealt with the situation."They tortured these people with hunger, not allowing food and medication to be sent down. It makes us really sad that he was down there without food for that long. We believe this is what ended his life," his aunt dead miner's family have finally received his body and buried him near his half-finished Tiger's mother and brother are still waiting for news about him. The South African police say the search continues, though it is not clear if they have got any closer to finding him. More BBC stories from South Africa: BBC uncovers child sex abuse in South Africa's illegal minesUnpacking the South African land law that so inflames TrumpRebuked by Trump but praised at home: How Ramaphosa might gain from US showdownTragic story of South African girl sold by her mother Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica