Some stubborn illegal miners who have vowed to continue mining illegally despite government’s efforts to stop the canker have been punished by the law.
In all, twenty-one Ghanaians who were found guilty to various charges have been sentenced to a total of 340 years imprisonment by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for illegal mining (galamsey) in five different sites in the Western Region.
Apart from the jail terms, the court, presided over by Hathia Ama Manu, also imposed a fine of GH¢120,000 on each of the 21 convicts, totalling GH¢2.52 million.
The convicts were sentenced separately in five different cases with various prison terms of between 15 years and 20 years for engaging in illegal mining, contrary to Section 99 of the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995).
They had pleaded not guilty to engaging in illegal mining, but the court found them guilty after it held that the prosecution, spearheaded by the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Office in Sekondi, proved its case beyond reasonable doubt to establish their guilt.
The court further sentenced each of the convicts to five years for conspiracy to engage in illegal mining.
All the sentences will run concurrently, meaning while the convicts serve their jail terms for illegal mining, they will also serve the terms for conspiracy to engage in illegal mining.
Mining in River Ankobra
Ten of the convicts were found guilty of mining in River Ankobra.
In the first case related to mining in River Ankobra, John Domotey and five others were arrested by a task force.
They were handed over to the police, together with their equipment, which included a detector machine, shovels and pickaxes, and were prosecuted on charges of illegal mining and conspiracy to engage in illegal mining.
The Tarkwa Circuit Court found them guilty and sentenced each of them to 15 years imprisonment in hard labour and a fine of 10,000 penalty units each (GH¢120,000).
With regard to the second case, on September 8, 2021, the assembly man for Himan Electoral Area, Alex Baako, and some youth of the community arrested five persons engaging in galamsey on the River Ankobra with a mining dredge machine.
The five — Sampson Mefe, Eric Beyetua, Nkubi Francis, Timothy Kumordja, and Larbi Evans — were found guilty and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each in hard labour, as well as a fine of GH¢120,000 each.