Chairman Wontumi’s 20-Year Sentence: CHRAJ Responds to Claims Against Deputy Commissioner
- CHRAJ issued a formal disclaimer on 22 July 2026 refuting viral social media posts linking Deputy Commissioner Mercy Larbi to the Wontumi trial
- False publications circulated photographs of Larbi, wrongly connecting her to the 20-year prison sentence handed to NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman
- CHRAJ warned that the misinformation risks damaging public trust in the commission and harming Larbi's professional reputation
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The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has formally rejected claims circulating on social media that its Deputy Commissioner, Mercy Larbi, was the High Court judge who sentenced Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, to 20 years in prison.
In a disclaimer published on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the commission moved to correct what it described as false and misleading publications that had attached Larbi's photograph to the high-profile sentencing.
Source: UGC
CHRAJ clears Deputy Commissioner of any role
CHRAJ stated categorically that Larbi had no involvement whatsoever in the trial or its outcome.
"The Commission states unequivocally that this Deputy Commissioner did not preside over the proceedings in question and is not the Judge responsible for the sentence being attributed to her," the statement read.
According to a report by GhanaWeb, the commission further confirmed that it was Justice Audrey Kocuvie Tay, not Larbi, who presided over the proceedings against Chairman Wontumi.
The viral posts had conflated the two women, wrongly identifying Larbi as the presiding judge.
"The publication and circulation of her photograph in connection with the sentence are false, misleading, and without factual basis," CHRAJ added in its statement.
CHRAJ warns against spreading false information
Beyond correcting the record, CHRAJ raised concern about the broader damage such misinformation could cause to both its institutional credibility and Larbi's personal reputation.
The commission urged the public to treat the circulating posts with scepticism and to stop amplifying them.
"The public is accordingly advised to disregard these publications and to refrain from sharing or reproducing them," the disclaimer concluded.
The false link between Larbi and the Wontumi sentencing appears to have spread rapidly before CHRAJ intervened, underscoring the speed at which unverified information can take hold on social media platforms, particularly in cases involving prominent political figures.
Wontumi's 20-year sentence has attracted significant public attention given his profile as a senior figure within the New Patriotic Party.
Why Chairman Wontumi was jailed
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh had reported that the Deputy Attorney General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, had revealed that the evidence that led to the conviction of NPP Chairman Wontumi had come from an unexpected source.
Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman, had been sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Accra High Court over illegal mining charges.
The NPP had announced plans to appeal the ruling after publicly describing the conviction as political persecution.
Source: YEN.com.gh
