The High Court in Accra on Thursday, May 28, 2026, resumed hearing in the criminal trial of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, with the defence calling former Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko, as its next witness in the ongoing Samreboi illegal mining case.
The proceedings come barely a week after the Court granted what can be described as a final indulgence to the defence in Republic v Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias Chairman Wontumi & 2 Others, directing the accused persons to call any remaining witnesses by Thursday, May 28, 2026, or risk having their defence deemed closed.
At the previous sitting, counsel for the accused, Andy Appiah-Kubi Esq., had invoked Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution and urged the Court to grant additional time to secure the attendance of a witness said to be outside the jurisdiction. The Court subsequently fixed May 28 as the final deadline for the defence to conclude its case.
In compliance with that order, the defence on Thursday called Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko, who was led in evidence-in-chief by Andy Appiah-Kubi Esq.
Proceedings, however, ended shortly after cross-examination commenced. State prosecutors, led by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem Sai, posed only a single question to the witness before the matter was adjourned to Monday, June 1, 2026, for continuation of the cross-examination.
With the defence having now produced the witness whose anticipated testimony formed the basis of its earlier request for additional time, attention is likely to shift to the substance and credibility of that evidence as the proceedings move closer to their final stages.
