Lawyer Maurice Ampaw has said that Andy Appiah Kubi, the lawyer who represented Chairman Wontumi, did not help his client’s case because the lawyer’s temperament was “unsuited to the fight”.

Speaking in an interview shared by Ghana News Stand, he said that unlike lawyers such as himself, Tsatsu Tsikata, Sam Cudjoe, Samuel Atta Akyea and Martin Kpebu, lawyer Appiah Kubi is too much "a gentleman. He respects people; he is humble. He doesn't like fights”.

He also noted that Wontumi’s counsel was not able to appear in court consistently throughout the case.

Lawyer Ampaw stressed that Wontumi should have rather engaged the services of a “radical" lawyer, adding that Wontumi made "a mistake" by taking on only one lawyer when he could have complemented lawyer Appiah Kubi with "a tough one" who would tackle the judge.

"If I was on the case, what I would have done to the judge would have been a spectacle," he swore.

He said he would have used his legal privileges as a lawyer and not allowed adjournments to drag on.

"If Appiah Kubi had that heart, he would not have allowed the judge to sit on this case for 6 months," he said.

He added that lawyer Appiah Kubi's "only mistake was he trusted the judicial system and that his client had a good case”.

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, affectionately called “Chairman Wontumi” has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour after being convicted over illegal mining-related offences linked to the Akonta Mining concession in the Western Region. 

His legal team has since indicated they will appeal the conviction and sentence.