Ghana has begun enforcing a law that prohibits preaching and hawking on public-service vehicles while they are moving. The regulation is intended to protect passengers' comfort and safety, with offenders facing fines, imprisonment, or both.

The rule has divided opinion. Some passengers welcome the peace and freedom from unsolicited preaching, while others believe evangelism on buses provides hope and reaches people who may not attend church. For some pastors, bus preaching is also an important source of income. Interestingly, preaching at lorry parks and markets is still permitted, and social media offers pastors another avenue to spread their message.

And now, the sermon from the Ministry of Public Peace...

At last, Ghana appears to have identified one of the great threats to public peace: a pastor preaching on a moving bus.

Forget the potholes. Forget the traffic. Forget the endless political speeches. Forget the promises made during election season. The real national emergency is apparently a pastor standing in the aisle of a Neoplan bus, Bible in hand, asking passengers to repent.

What a relief.

The government has essentially said: "Dear pastors, please stop disturbing passengers with your sermons. People deserve a peaceful journey."

Fair enough. Some passengers clearly agree. If someone has paid for a bus ticket, perhaps they should be entitled to travel without being unexpectedly enrolled in a three-hour theological conference — complete with shouting, singing, clapping and, according to one passenger, the occasional accidental shower of saliva. Call it religious commerce, unsolicited evangelism, or simply a sermon nobody ordered — if you like.

But here comes the interesting part.

Apparently, the Ghanaian passenger must be protected from a pastor's unwanted sermon, but what happens when the same passenger turns on the television?

There, another kind of preacher may be waiting.

Enter the politician.

The politician doesn't necessarily need a Bible. A microphone will do. A campaign platform will do. A television studio will do. A radio station will do. A rally with thousands of supporters will do even better.

And unlike the pastor, the politician can potentially speak to millions without anyone handing them a bus ticket and saying, "I paid for peace and quiet."

Politicians can stand before enormous crowds and make grand promises. They can appear on radio and television, repeat slogans, offer explanations and make claims that supporters enthusiastically applaud. During election campaigns, public spaces can suddenly become open-air preaching grounds, with politicians competing to convince citizens that salvation — sorry, development — is just around the corner.

So perhaps Ghana needs a new classification.

Pastor preaching on a bus: Public nuisance.

Politician preaching at a rally: Political engagement.

Pastor using a loudspeaker: Please keep the noise down.

Politician using a microphone: Turn up the volume!

Pastor asking people to believe in miracles: Potentially intrusive.

Politician asking people to believe that everything will be better after the election: Please, continue.

Of course, there is a legitimate difference: the government says the bus restriction is about safety, comfort and avoiding distractions while vehicles are moving. And passengers should certainly not be forced to listen to anyone, whether that person is selling a product, preaching a sermon or delivering a political speech.

But if the concern is really about protecting citizens from unwanted noise, disruption and questionable claims, one cannot help wondering where the line is drawn.

Perhaps the Ghanaian bus passenger should be issued a special "Freedom From Preaching" card.

On boarding the bus, the passenger ticks a box:

☐ No pastor.

☐ No hawker.

☐ No megaphone.

☐ No political speech.

☐ No campaign promises.

☐ And absolutely no one telling me that my problems will disappear if I simply believe hard enough.

Unfortunately, the last three boxes might prove rather difficult to enforce. But they are better than nothing; better than not protecting citizens from unwanted noise polution, disruption and nuisance. 

There is also an amusing irony in the fact that some pastors say preaching is their religious duty. In contrast, at least some pastors acknowledge that the money passengers give them is an important source of income. So perhaps the bus has become not only a moving church, but also a moving collection plate. Another mild tithe?

Still, if preaching on buses is banned because passengers deserve peace, then perhaps peace should be a universal principle rather than a bus-specific privilege.

A pastor may have to find another pulpit. Social media, according to some pastors, is available. Perhaps that is the perfect solution: let the pastor preach online, let the politician campaign online, and let the exhausted Ghanaian passenger finally sit in silence on the bus.

Unless, of course, someone discovers that silence doesn't win elections, attract donations, or generate followers.

Then we may have to declare that a public nuisance too.

 Video: https://youtube.com/shorts/isZdxK0YUSI?si=U8QkQb6M_p1ljiSY