Wontumi is not a political prisoner, he’s a common criminal – Inusah Fuseini

Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Inusah Fuseini says Chairman Wontumi is not a political prisoner but a common criminal convicted through due legal process.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, the legal practitioner rejected claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, had become a political prisoner following his recent conviction and imprisonment.

Fuseini argued that the description was inaccurate because Wontumi’s conviction resulted from criminal offences established by a court, not from his political beliefs or activities.

“Wontumi is not a political prisoner. Everybody should disabuse his mind on that statement. He is not a political prisoner.”

He went further, stating: “Wontumi is a common prisoner. He’s a common criminal. Political prisoners are imprisoned because of their beliefs.”

According to him, a political prisoner is someone detained for ideological convictions or opposition to a governing regime, circumstances he said did not apply to the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman.

“How can you say that somebody who has been held by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated the laws of the country is a political prisoner?” he questioned.

Fuseini maintained that Wontumi had been tried and convicted through the judicial process and insisted the public should distinguish between a criminal conviction and political persecution.

“What beliefs was he fighting for that sent him to jail? What was his ideological persuasion that was contrary to the existing governance arrangement that sent him to jail? He could not have been a political prisoner,” he said.

He added that respect for the rule of law required honesty in public discourse, arguing that disagreement with a court’s decision should not lead to misleading labels.

His comments come after the NPP accused the Mahama administration of selective justice following Wontumi’s conviction.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, General Secretary Justin Frimpong Kodua described the 20-year prison sentence as politically motivated and alleged that the government was shielding its own while targeting political opponents.

An Accra High Court on Friday sentenced Wontumi to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after finding him guilty of multiple offences linked to illegal mining operations undertaken by Akonta Mining Limited at Samreboi in the Western Region.

His lawyers have since indicated they will appeal both the conviction and sentence.