An artisanal miner, Michael Gyadu Ayisi, has testified in the High Court (Criminal Division), Accra, in the trial involving the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi.

Mr Ayisi, who testified as Prosecution Witness One (PW1), adopted his witness statement filed on October 31, 2025, as his evidence-in-chief before the High Court (Criminal Division).

In his witness statement, Mr Ayisi told the court that he was an artisanal miner residing at Mempeasem in Samreboi in the Western Region.

He said he was employed by Henry Okum to work as an administrator and supervisor at a mining concession located at Samreboi.

The witness stated that Mr Okum informed him that he had taken over the concession from the first accused person (Chairman Wontumi) and that he (the witness) worked on the site for about eight months prior to his arrest.

Mr Ayisi stated that the concession had both mined and unmined portions, adding that mining activities were carried out in the unmined areas, while coconut seedlings were planted on previously mined portions as part of land reclamation efforts.

Arrest

The witness told the court that on April 17, 2025, at about 4:30 a.m., he was asleep when police and military officers entered his room and arrested him along with five others.

He said upon his arrest, the officers asked whether there were any weapons in the room, and he informed them that the company owned some weapons which were registered in the name of his employer, Mr Okum.

He said he voluntarily handed over the weapons to the police, together with some boxes of ammunition.

Mr Ayisi further said the police searched other offices on the site and retrieved two GPS machines, a laptop, a mobile phone, an amount of GH¢157,000 and five pieces of gold, as well as machetes from one of his colleagues.

Except for the laptop, he said all the items retrieved belonged to his employer.

Cross-examination

Under cross-examination by counsel for the accused, Mr Appiah-Kubi, the witness said he gave several statements to the police following his arrest, some of which were taken in Twi and translated into English.

He said he could not remember the names of the police officers who took his statements but confirmed that an interpreter, whom he identified as Mr Mackeon, assisted with translation.

Mr Ayisi also told the court that he had no formal training in mining and acquired his skills through on-the-job experience. He said he had attained senior secondary school education.

He admitted that he had not seen any document evidencing the transfer of the concession to his employer and that his knowledge of the concession was based on what Mr Okum told him.

He further told the court that he did not know the boundaries of the Samreboi concession and had not seen any concession documents.

Asked about the ownership of the land, the witness said that people in Samreboi generally regarded the land as belonging to Chairman Wontumi.

He also confirmed that gold was extracted on the land and that any gold obtained was handed over to his employer, although he could not state the quantity or the number of times gold had been delivered.

The witness said he did not know who mined the portions of the land that had already been worked on before his arrival.

Witnesses

The court, presided over by Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, adjourned the continuation of cross-examination to Tuesday, January 13.

The prosecution intends to call four witnesses in total as part of its case.