Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai has clarified why Henry Okum and Michael Gyedu Ayisi avoided custodial sentences while Chairman Wontumi received a 20-year prison sentence with hard labor over an illegal mining (galamsey) case.

Speaking on Joy FM, Srem Sai explained that Okum and Ayisi utilized the country's plea bargaining laws.

"They took advantage of the plea bargaining law and entered into a plea negotiation which resulted in the non-prosecution agreement we have signed with them," he stated.

He dismissed claims that the government treated Chairman Wontumi unfairly, rejecting criticisms circulating in some media and political circles.

He commented comes on the back of criticisms by Kofi Tonto, a Spokesperson for former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Kofi Tonto, a member of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), alleged in an interview with TV3 that the government allowed the actual illegal miners to go free while wrongfully convicting an innocent Chairman Wontumi.

But the Deputy Attorney General, in reply to the criticisms, says "the accused person, Chairman Wontumi, chose not to take advantage of the plea bargaining law and decided to go to trial instead”.

He further explained that under the terms of the plea bargain, Okum and Ayisi agreed to "forfeit their assets". 

This included mining equipment like excavators and the gold seized from the illegal mining operations conducted on Chairman Wontumi's Akonta Mining concession.

Additionally, Justice Srem Sai noted that the agreement required the two men to serve as State witnesses in the case.