Who Has the Audacity to Tell You What to Do on a Bus – Kwesi Pratt On Preaching Ban

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has challenged those opposing restrictions on preaching and hawking in commercial vehicles, arguing that passengers should not be forced to listen to religious messages while travelling.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, Pratt questioned why people should be permitted to preach inside public transport vehicles when passengers may have different religious convictions or prefer to spend their journeys resting without interruptions.

He pointed out that the existence of numerous religions and Christian denominations makes it difficult to determine which religious teachings should be promoted in public transport, insisting that no individual should have the freedom to impose personal beliefs on others.

“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 further argued that people who wish to receive religious teachings can attend church or other places of worship instead of turning commercial vehicles into platforms for preaching, particularly when passengers have not consented to such activities.

“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?” he asked.

The veteran journalist expressed concern about the discomfort passengers may experience when preachers engage them throughout long-distance journeys, citing the Accra-to-Kumasi route as an example of a trip that can sometimes take approximately six hours.

According to Pratt, passengers already endure the physical demands of travelling, and being compelled to listen to extended religious messages could make their journeys even more exhausting.

“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.

He also questioned the burden that preaching inside commercial vehicles could place on drivers and passengers, maintaining that government efforts to regulate the activity should not automatically be interpreted as hostility towards Christianity or any other religion.

“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 individuals should have the freedom to practise their faith without being pressured to accept the religious convictions of others, adding that the restriction should also apply when a commercial vehicle is stationary.

“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 improved regulation of activities at bus stations, criticising individuals who allegedly use religion as an excuse for conduct he considers inappropriate and disruptive to others.

The debate follows the introduction of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), which imposed restrictions on preaching and hawking in moving public transport vehicles, with violators facing possible fines or imprisonment.

However, the policy faced opposition from sections of the public and religious groups, prompting the government to suspend the ban.

Pratt’s argument is that passengers should be allowed to travel without unwanted religious interruptions, while people who wish to share their faith should respect the right of others to make their own religious choices.

Source: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Preaching-Ban-Who-the-hell-has-the-audacity-to-tell-you-what-to-do-on-a-bus-Pratt-2056670

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