The Tarkwa Circuit Court presided over by Her Honor Hathia Ama Manu on 31st August 2023, convicted a total of twenty-five (25) illegal miners who had been arrested at five different illegal mining sites in 2021 for various illegal mining activities. The Court sentenced the convicts to various terms between fifteen years and twenty years together with the maximum penalty units sanctioned under the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995).
The five cases involving the 25 persons were prosecuted by the Sekondi Office of the Attorney-General. The offenders were charged with the offence of conspiracy to engage in illegal mining as well as the substantive offence of illegal mining. They were sentenced to terms ranging from fifteen years to twenty years in hard labour for the substantive offence of illegal mining depending on the gravity of the acts as well as a term of five years for the conspiracy charge. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ten thousand penalty units on each accused person.
The facts of the five cases are as follows:
Republic v Richard Kumasi & Four Others.
All five accused persons were charged with conspiracy to commit the offence of illegal mining as well as the offence of illegal mining. They were convicted of all the offences and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment with hard labour and ten thousand penalty units for the offence of illegal mining as well as five years on the conspiracy charge.
The Republic v Sampson Mefe & Four Others.
In this case, the five accused persons were arrested on September 8, 2021, by the Assembly man of Himan Electoral Area, Alex Baako with eight youths of the community. The Accused persons, Sampson Mefe, Eric Beyetua, Nkubi Francis, Timothy Kumordja, and Larbi Evans, engaged in illegal mining in River Ankobra with a mining dredge machine.
The five accused persons were convicted of the offences of conspiracy to commit illegal mining and illegal mining. They were sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment with hard labour and ten thousand penalty units for the offence of illegal mining as well as five years on the conspiracy charge.
Republic v Gordin Naah & Four Others.
In this case, Gordon Naah and 4 Ors, Kojo Amoo, a Range Manager at the Forestry Division, Tarkwa, reported that, at about 10.20am on 2nd February, 2021, Gordon Naa, Bismark Joribon, Abdulai Asongmene and Nicholas Dunuanua, were found engaging in illegal mining at Ndumfri forest reserve, near Simpa.
About one and half acres of the forest had been destroyed entirely by the illegal miners including the accused persons.
Gordon Naah and the other accused persons were arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for conspiracy to mine illegally and illegal mining. They were sentenced to fifteen years in hard labour and 10,000 penalty units for the substantive offence of illegal mining and five years for the conspiracy charge.
The fourth accused person, a juvenile was remitted to the Juvenile court for sentencing.
The Republic v George Fynn & Two Others.
In the case, the Accused person George Fynn was arrested at Esuoso, Tarkwa, after mining together with two other friends under a high-tension cable. While George Fynn was arrested, the other accused persons, Effah and Christian who are now at large escaped. They have been declared wanted by the Tarkwa Circuit court. George Fynn was prosecuted and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment with hard labour and ten thousand penalty units for the offence of illegal mining as well as five years on the conspiracy charge.
Republic v John Domotey & Five Others.
The accused persons were arrested at the Ankobra river undertaking illegal mining. The arresting team arrested and handed them over to the Tarkwa Police together with a detector machine, two shovels, and two pickaxes which they used in their illegal mining activities. The court convicted the Accused persons and sentenced them to fifteen years imprisonment with hard labour and ten thousand penalty units for the offence of illegal mining as well as five years on the conspiracy charge.
All the accused persons are currently serving their sentences in prison facilities around the country.
