The Attorney-General has prayed to the High Court in Accra to dismiss an application filed by lawyers for the embattled Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, seeking to defer judgment in his criminal trial.
The AG, in his affidavit, argued that the request by Wontumi’s defence counsel is an abuse of the court’s process intended to frustrate the administration of justice.
In an affidavit filed in opposition to the application, the Attorney-General said the accused persons closed their defence on June 3, 2026, after which the court adjourned the case for judgment.
“I am advised, and I verily believe the same to be true, that the Accused Persons have, on June 3, 2026, closed their case and the Court adjourned for judgment,” the affidavit stated.
The prosecution maintained that the accused persons had been represented by lawyers of their own choice throughout the proceedings and that there had been no breach of their constitutional right to legal representation.
According to the affidavit, the previous legal team withdrew from the case voluntarily and amicably, “and, most importantly, not for cause.”
To support that claim, the Attorney-General attached a public statement issued by Boasiako on June 15, 2026, in which he announced the appointment of former legislator and lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea as his new lead defence counsel while expressing appreciation to his former legal team.
In the statement, Boasiako said, “I express my sincere appreciation to my previous legal team for their services and commitment throughout these proceedings. My decision should not be construed as a reflection on their competence or dedication but rather as an exercise of my legal right to determine the composition of my defence team.”
The Attorney-General argued that because the transition between legal teams was amicable, the incoming lawyers ought to have obtained the case records and briefing materials from the outgoing lawyers rather than seeking them from the court registry.
“I am advised, and I verily believe the same to be true, that under such amicable circumstances of legal service withdrawal, the proper place to procure the records of and any brief or briefing on the case is the outgoing counsel and not the Court’s Registry,” the affidavit said.
The prosecution further alleged that the defence acted in bad faith by seeking records from the court registry instead of the former lawyers.
“The decision by counsel to, without cause, abandon the proper source of obtaining the records or brief of the case and to, rather, apply to the Court’s Registry is actuated by mala fides and a desire to frustrate the course of justice,” the affidavit stated.
The Attorney-General also questioned the conduct of the new defence team, noting that although Boasiako publicly announced Atta Akyea’s appointment on June 15, 2026, the formal notice of appointment was not filed until June 22, 2026.
According to the prosecution, the seven-day delay in formally assuming representation was further evidence of bad faith and an attempt to delay the proceedings.
The Attorney-General, therefore, asked the High Court to reject the application outright.
“That this is the proper case where this Court ought to exercise its discretion to summarily refuse the present application, as a grant thereof will constitute the Court’s endorsement of abuse of its processes and public ridicule of the justice system,” the affidavit said.
In his June 15 statement, Boasiako said he had appointed Atta Akyea as his new lead defence counsel after careful consultation and in the exercise of his constitutional right to legal representation by counsel of his choice.
“The charges before the Court are serious, and I remain firmly committed to defending myself through the due process of law.
As with every accused person, I am entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a competent court of law, and the burden rests on the prosecution to establish every element of the offences charged beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.
The case, which also involves Akonta Mining Company Limited as the third accused person and a second accused person who remains at large, is before the High Court’s Criminal Division in Accra. Judgment is pending the court’s determination of the defence application.