Kofi Tonto, Spokesperson for former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has expressed over the imprisonment of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, arguing that his conviction over illegal mining-related offences was politically motivated.

Speaking on TV3, Mr Tonto said: "Wontumi is a political prisoner”.

He claimed there was injustice in how the case was handled.

"There is injustice on the land, I mean, in the country," he said.

Kofi Tonto maintained that others linked to illegal mining had not faced the same legal consequences.

Without mentioning names, he cited a previous case in which a company that had also granted a third party permission to operate on its concession was not criminally prosecuted; instead, its mining licence was revoked and a committee was set up to investigate the matter.

Unlike Wontumi, he said, that company did not face a possible 20-year prison sentence.

Mr Tonto said the disparity in how these two cases were handled raised concerns about fairness in the application of the law.