Ghana Law Bans Bus Preaching With Fines and Prison Time

Ghana's parliament passed a regulation in May 2024 that bans preaching and hawking on public service vehicles while in motion. Violators face up to eight months in prison, a fine of up to $52, or both. The law has begun to be enforced in recent weeks across the West African nation, which is predominantly Christian. The regulation classifies preaching on moving vehicles as a nuisance and cites passenger safety and comfort.

The law directly affects pastors who have long used long-distance buses as a platform for evangelism, walking the aisles, reading from the Bible and calling passengers to repentance during journeys that sometimes last several hours. Boateng Bismark James, a 61-year-old pastor at Gospel Light Church in Accra, has conducted this ministry from Neoplan bus station since 2023. His group of 13 worshippers gathers before each trip to pray for drivers and passengers before boarding. The enforcement of the new rule now places such outreach activities in direct legal jeopardy.

Pastor Boateng defended his ministry in a statement to the BBC. "I preach on commercial vehicles because not everyone is able to go to church on Sunday. There are a lot of passengers who need our message of salvation to repent from their sins. We even heal the sick on some buses," he said in Twi, a local language. Supporters of the law argue that it protects passenger comfort and road safety during transit.

The regulation targets both preachers and hawkers operating on vehicles in motion, grouping the two activities together under the same legal framework. Ghana's large Christian population has long viewed bus evangelism as a grassroots outreach tool that reaches people who may not attend formal church services. It remains to be seen whether religious groups will mount a legal or legislative challenge to the new law. No official church body response to the regulation had been publicly confirmed at the time of reporting.