Security consultant Richard Kumadoe has attributed the sudden illness of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako—popularly known as Chairman Wontumi—to the psychological toll of facing serious allegations, some of which, he believes, may be true.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, May 31, Kumadoe said Wontumi’s reported collapse during interrogation by the Economic and Organised Office (EOCO) was unsurprising, given the weight of the charges against him.
“For the fact that you are Chairman Wontumi and for the fact that you have been arrested, and you are not sleeping in your house, you are likely to fall sick. For the fact that your business is in line with the nature of NPP-NDC politics, you are likely to fall sick,” Kumadoe stated.
He further noted that the nature of the allegations—including fraud, money laundering, and cross-border crimes—can have a significant psychological impact, especially if the accused knows there is some truth to them.
“If the charges that were put out by the Deputy Attorney General that you are being investigated for fraud, money laundering, cross-border crimes, and many of those things…and if you know that many of these charges are true, you will fall sick.
Knowing very well that you can be kept under the walls of the BNI, which are higher and thicker than your house walls, you will fall sick.”
Chairman Wontumi was rushed to a hospital on Tuesday, May 27, after reportedly falling ill during questioning by EOCO in Accra. His legal counsel, Andy Appiah-Kubi—a former Member of Parliament for Asante-Akim North—confirmed the incident.
Wontumi had been arrested earlier that day by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, and later picked up by EOCO, which is conducting a separate investigation into alleged financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the state.
He was granted bail on Wednesday, May 28, with conditions set at GH₵50 million and two justified sureties. However, despite claims by his lawyers that the bail conditions had been satisfied, Wontumi remained in custody as of Saturday, May 31.
His continued detention has sparked protests from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with Minority MPs staging a sit-in at EOCO’s headquarters on Thursday, May 29. Protesters claim his arrest is politically motivated and part of a broader campaign of intimidation.
But Kumadoe, who earlier described the protests as “unreasonable,” maintains that EOCO acted within the bounds of the law. He insists that Chairman Wontumi’s condition reflects the seriousness of the allegations, not any form of mistreatment.