The government has suspended the implementation of the Road Traffic Regulations 2026, Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2519, which sought to prohibit preaching and hawking inside moving commercial vehicles such as trotros and buses.
The regulations, which prescribed fines of between 10 and 50 penalty units, imprisonment of up to eight months, or both for offenders, drew widespread criticism after details of the provisions became public.
Under the rules, activities long common in Ghana’s public transport system—including religious preaching and the sale of goods to passengers while vehicles are in motion—would have attracted criminal penalties.
The suspension follows intense public debate with several religious leaders condemning the restriction as an attempt to curtail the voice of the church.
Among the most vocal critics are Reverend Dr. Kojo Boateng Bempah, Head Pastor of Holy Hill Chapel Assemblies of God, and South MP Reverend John Ntim Fordjour.
Speaking to his congregation, Reverend Bempah strongly rejected the ban.
“Now they say we shouldn’t preach in a bus, as if they bought the bus for somebody. When those little little things begin, they are trying to shut the mouth of the church,” he said.
“You didn’t buy a bus for anybody, you say we shouldn’t preach in a bus. When my bus is going, come and tell me.”
He continued: “So today, I send a message: who is behind that? The church is too quiet! People are secretly planning, planning, planning. I don’t know who they are, but I’m talking to them. But you will not succeed, though. What you are trying to do, you will not succeed. You won’t succeed.
“Wherever human beings gather, we will preach. Wherever human beings gather, the word must go forth. Wherever human beings gather, they go to the school, we’ll preach there. They enter phone, we’ll preach there. They enter the car, we’ll preach there. Even at the back of okada, we’ll be shouting the name Jesus,” he said.
Reverend Bempah added that the early spread of Christianity would not have reached Ghana if earlier believers had remained silent, urging the faithful not to “please people to displease God.”
The temporary suspension of L.I. 2519 allows time for further review of the controversial provisions amid the ongoing national conversation on balancing public order, safety, and constitutional freedoms.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
