A High Court in Accra has sentenced Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), to 20 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty on six counts related to illegal mining. The ruling, delivered on Monday, 20 July 2026, is regarded as the highest-profile conviction in Ghana’s ongoing fight against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey. The Court found Antwi-Boasiako guilty of offences including the unlawful assignment of mineral rights and intentionally facilitating unlicensed mining operations. The conviction stems from a police operation in April 2025, during which several miners were arrested and excavators, firearms and cash were seized from illegal mining sites. Ghana has intensified efforts to combat illegal mining, which authorities say has devastated forests, polluted rivers and caused economic losses estimated at US$2 billion annually.