Court defers judgement in Wontumi’s Samreboi case to July 20, grants lawyer more time to file address

An Accra High Court has deferred judgement in the Samreboi illegal mining case involving New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to July 20, 2026.

The court granted an application by the accused person’s lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, seeking additional time to file written submissions on behalf of his client.

The development follows an application filed by the defence asking the court to defer the July 3 judgment date to allow the new counsel sufficient time to study the case records and prepare written arguments.

“The Court after listening to Counsel for the accused and the Prosecution has granted an extension of time from today, to the 13th of July for Counsel for the accused to file any written address he may have,” an update shared by the official Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) account stated.

The court subsequently fixed July 20, at 9:00 a.m. for the delivery of judgment in the matter.

Mr. Atta Akyea, who recently took over the case, had argued that he required additional time to review the proceedings and adequately prepare submissions for his client.

Prior to Monday’s hearing, the former Abuakwa South MP expressed concern over the Attorney General’s opposition to the application.

“I’m very surprised that even the Attorney General by an affidavit have been in opposition and say that we are trying to delay the trial, but then if you don’t give us opportunity, and then we don’t shed light on the case from our perspective, then there suffers a miscarriage of justice,” he said in an interview.

The Attorney General had opposed the application, arguing that the accused persons had legal representation throughout the trial and that the request was intended to delay the administration of justice.

The state also argued that the new lawyer could have obtained the relevant documents and briefing from previous counsel instead of seeking the records through the court registry.

Mr. Atta Akyea, however, maintained that the request was necessary to protect his client’s right to a fair hearing, insisting that the written submission stage is crucial in a criminal trial.