Preaching Ban: ‘Who the hell has the audacity to tell you what to do on a bus?’ - Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has criticised people opposing the ban on preaching and hawking in commercial vehicles.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on October 14, 2026, Pratt argued that allowing people to preach freely in commercial vehicles could force passengers to listen to religious messages they do not want to hear.

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He said Christianity has different denominations and beliefs, raising concerns about which version of the gospel should be allowed in public transport.

“Now, in Ghana and in the world, there isn't just one religion. There are hundreds of religions. Even in Christianity, there are many, many different versions of Christianity and so on,” he said.

Pratt questioned why passengers should be subjected to preaching during their journeys, particularly on long trips when they need rest.

He cited journeys from Accra to Kumasi and how they could take up to six hours, arguing that unsolicited preaching could add to the stress of travelling.

“When you want to go to church, you go to church. When you sit on the bus, and excuse my language, who the hell has the audacity to tell you what to do on the bus? That some guy, who, for all you know, is having some mental issues, you know, decides that on your journey from Accra to Kumasi, he will come and tell you about salvation, and from Accra to Kumasi, there's no rest.

“These days, sometimes it takes six hours to get to Kumasi; the stress of the journey itself, and they are adding on to the stress, and I've heard some of these preachers, and my goodness,” he stated.

“Can you imagine the burden that is imposed on the passengers and the driver? Can you imagine it? And the state wants to stop this, and people are protesting. An attack on Christianity, I wonder,” he argued.

Pratt maintained that passengers should be free to hold their own religious beliefs without others imposing theirs on them.

He said the restriction should also apply when a vehicle is not moving.

“Even when the bus has not moved, I don't want to hear anybody telling me how to live my life. Why? Because that person has a right to believe whatever they believe; they can believe the beliefs of Jesus Christ, their business. I have a right to also believe what I want to believe. Why should they be allowed to impose their beliefs on me?” he said.

He also called for bus stations to be sanitised, arguing that some people use religion as a reason to engage in behaviour he considers inappropriate.

“All kinds of mad people and really crazy people, completely mad people, lunatics, are spreading their lunacy in the name of God, and we want to encourage this complete lunacy,” he added.

Preaching in vehicles is banned to cause accidents for ritual blood - Minister Ike alleges

The new Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), introduced restrictions on preaching and hawking in moving public transport vehicles, with offenders being liable to fines or jail terms.

The decision has since left Ghanaians divided, with some backing the move and others opposing it. The government has since suspended the ban.

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