Ghana has begun a nationwide campaign to educate the public about new road traffic regulations that prohibit preaching and hawking inside moving public and commercial vehicles, bringing renewed attention to a restriction that has existed in the country for more than a decade.
The Road Traffic Regulations, 2026, approved by Ghana's Parliament in May, classify preaching or hawking inside a moving public or commercial vehicle as an offence. A person convicted under the provision can face a fine of between 10 and 50 penalty units, imprisonment for up to eight months, or both.
The regulation has attracted attention because preaching on buses and other forms of public transport have long been a familiar part of public religious activity in Ghana and other parts of Africa.
However, the new regulations are not the first time Ghana has restricted the practice.
Ghana’s Road Traffic Regulations of 2012 already prohibited causing or permitting a nuisance, including preaching and hawking, in a public or commercial vehicle while the vehicle was in motion. The 2026 regulations place the offence within a wider road safety framework that introduces tougher penalties and new enforcement measures.
Ghana’s Ministry of Transport launched a nationwide sensitization campaign on Sept. 10 to explain the new road traffic laws and regulations to the public.
“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,” Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe said.
The wider reforms include automated traffic enforcement, a demerit point system for drivers, stricter penalties for serious traffic offences and new requirements affecting commercial and public transport operators.
The government also reduced the legal blood alcohol limit and introduced additional standards covering vehicle inspections, driver rest periods and the transportation of hazardous goods. The ministry said the nationwide education campaign would cover all 16 regions of Ghana.
The regulation does not amount to a general prohibition on preaching in Ghana, including street preaching or preaching in churches.
A similar regulation surfaced in Nigeria earlier this year when lawmakers revisited the country’s road safety legislation.
Nigeria’s Senate passed an amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission Act in July that listed preaching, hawking and trading inside commercial vehicles among prohibited activities.
Reports at the time described the measure as imposing a fine of N50,000 (approximately $37.65) for a person convicted of the offence, with the wider legislation seeking to strengthen enforcement of traffic regulations.
The legislation prompted public discussion over whether Nigeria was introducing a new restriction on Christian evangelism. The Senate subsequently clarified that the prohibition was not new.
According to the Senate, preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles had already been offences 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.
The amendment merely moved the provision within the schedule of offences, changing its listing from Item 36 to Item 49.
The Nigerian Senate also said the legislation did not prohibit street preaching or religious activity in public spaces.
“It is about the safety of commuters and other road users and is not intended to undermine any religious activity in the public space,” the Senate said in its clarification.
The Nigerian debate is significant for the Ghanaian discussion because the two countries have large Christian populations and established traditions of public evangelism. In both cases, however, authorities have presented the restrictions as transport and public safety measures rather than restrictions on Christianity.
The argument behind the rules is that activities inside moving commercial vehicles can create disturbances or distractions in an environment where drivers need to concentrate on the road.
Public transport preaching can involve an individual entering a bus, addressing passengers and delivering a religious message while the vehicle is travelling. The practice is particularly visible in parts of West Africa, where buses and minibuses are widely used for daily transportation.
The Transport Ministry has said implementation of the wider road traffic framework will require cooperation between transport authorities, police, road safety agencies, vehicle licensing officials, transport unions and other stakeholders. The ministry has described road safety as a shared responsibility among all road users.
