Ghana's main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reacted with fury after Bernard Antwi Boasiako, its influential Ashanti regional chairman known as "Chairman Wontumi", was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment with hard labour for illegal mining offences. The NPP has branded the ruling politically motivated, while environmental campaigners have welcomed it as a landmark moment that could deter other powerful figures from bankrolling illegal mining, a practice that has caused widespread pollution across Ghana despite years of government crackdowns.

Boasiako, who denied the charges, was convicted at a court in Accra on Monday of assigning mineral rights without approval and facilitating an unlicensed mining operation through his company, Akonta Mining. He was also fined more than $10,000 (£7,450) and appeared visibly shocked as the sentence was delivered. He is the first senior Ghanaian politician convicted of illegal mining, locally known as "galamsey", since the government's crackdown began in 2017; the NPP says it will appeal, while its general secretary accused the judge of ignoring evidence that would have cleared him.