Ghana tightens ban on bus preaching with fines and jail time under new road traffic rules

For years, passengers on Ghana's buses have been a captive congregation — a pastor boards, delivers a sermon to commuters who have nowhere to go, sometimes passes a collection, then steps off at the next stop. That practice is now the explicit target of a toughened national road traffic framework, and the government has launched a campaign across all 16 regions to make sure people know it.

Ghana's Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), approved by Parliament on 28 May 2026, classify preaching or hawking inside a moving public or commercial vehicle as a nuisance offence. Those found guilty under the provision may be fined anywhere from 10 to 50 penalty units — each currently valued at GH¢12, meaning penalties range from roughly GH¢120 to GH¢600 — imprisoned for as long as eight months, or both. The Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1153) that underpins the regulations was passed by Parliament and signed by the President on 24 December 2025, according to pulse.com.gh.

The Ministry of Transport launched its nationwide sensitisation campaign on 10 September to explain the new rules to drivers, passengers and other road users.

It is important that the national sensitization on the Road Traffic Amendment Bill and the L.I. be taken seriously so that people will be able to understand what laws they have to obey in discharging their day-to-day activities.— Joseph Bukari Nikpe, Transport Minister

The ban itself is not new. Ghana's Road Traffic Regulations of 2012 (L.I. 2180) had already made it an offence to cause or permit a nuisance — preaching and hawking included — aboard a public or commercial vehicle in motion. What has changed is the enforcement architecture around it. The 2026 framework introduces automated traffic enforcement through a system called Traffitech-GH, a demerit point system for drivers, stricter custodial sentences, and graduated fines. The ministry has described implementation as requiring cooperation between transport authorities, police, road safety agencies, vehicle licensing officials and transport unions, according to christiandaily.com.

The wider reforms go well beyond preaching. Under the new rules, the legal blood alcohol limit was lowered, and fresh standards were established covering vehicle inspections, driver rest periods, the transport of hazardous goods, and penalties for serious traffic offences. Under a separate section, anyone selling goods beside a road or on a pedestrian walkway faces a fine of as much as 50 penalty units or a prison term of up to three months, according to pulse.com.gh.

Authorities have been careful to frame the preaching restriction as a road safety and passenger comfort measure rather than a religious one. The regulation leaves street preaching and preaching in churches entirely untouched, stopping well short of a blanket prohibition on preaching across Ghana. The law targets the specific environment of a moving commercial vehicle, where activities can create disturbances for passengers and potentially distract drivers.

Ghana is not alone. In July, Nigeria's Senate approved an amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission Act placing preaching, hawking and trading inside commercial vehicles on a list of prohibited activities; reports put the fine upon conviction at N50,000, equivalent to roughly $37.65. The move prompted public debate over whether it amounted to a new restriction on Christian evangelism. Nigeria's Senate later explained that preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles had long been prohibited under Section 10(4) of the Federal Road Safety Commission Establishment Act of 2007 and Regulation 220 of the National Road Traffic Regulations of 2012, and that the amendment did nothing more than shift the provision from Item 36 to Item 49 in the schedule of offences, according to christiandaily.com.

It is about the safety of commuters and other road users and is not intended to undermine any religious activity in the public space.— Nigeria's Senate

The parallel is significant. Both Ghana and Nigeria have large Christian populations and established traditions of public evangelism, and in both countries buses and minibuses are a primary mode of daily transport — making them a highly visible venue for street-level religious outreach. In both countries, the restrictions have been put forward by authorities as measures aimed at transport safety and public order. Whether enforcement in Ghana proves more consistent than the largely ignored 2012 rules will determine whether the familiar sight of a preacher boarding a trotro becomes a thing of the past.

Why it matters — A toughened legal framework with real penalties and a government enforcement campaign could end a decades-old practice of religious outreach on Ghana's public transport — raising questions about how faith communities adapt and whether enforcement will finally stick where the 2012 rules did not.

Reported by com.gh, pulse.com.gh, modernghana.com, christiandaily.com