Head Pastor of Holy Hill Chapel Assemblies of God, Rev. Dr. Kwadwo Boateng Bempah, has challenged the enforcement of Ghana’s new restrictions on preaching and other activities inside moving commercial and public vehicles.
Rev. Dr. Bempah argued that attempts to prevent Christians from preaching the gospel in places where people gather would not succeed, insisting that the church must continue to proclaim its message despite the new regulations.
His comments come amid renewed public discussion over the enforcement of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), particularly Regulation 141, which prohibits causing or permitting a nuisance, including preaching and hawking, inside a public or commercial vehicle while it is in motion.
Under the new regulations, a person found guilty of the offence may face a fine ranging from 10 to 50 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢120 to GH¢600, imprisonment for up to eight months, or both.
Speaking on the issue, Rev. Dr. Bempah questioned why preaching on moving buses should be restricted, particularly when other forms of loud public activity continue in communities.
“They say we shouldn’t preach in the bus as if they bought the bus for somebody,” he said.
He also questioned the rationale behind restricting preaching in vehicles while people use loudspeakers for other activities at dawn.
“But there are others that scream in the early morning at 4:30 AM in loudspeakers. You didn’t buy a bus for anybody, you say we shouldn’t preach in the bus,” he added.
The pastor said he is prepared to continue preaching whenever he had the opportunity, declaring that he would not be deterred by the possibility of enforcement.
“When my bus is going, come and tell me that,” he stated.
Rev. Dr. Bempah further suggested that efforts to silence the church are part of a broader attempt to suppress Christian preaching, although he did not identify any specific individuals or groups behind what he described as such plans.
“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,” he said.
He urged Christians not to remain silent and insisted that the gospel must be proclaimed wherever people gather.
“Wherever human beings gather, we will preach. Wherever human beings gather, the word must go forth,” he declared.
According to him, the church has a responsibility to take the gospel beyond conventional worship centres and into places where ordinary people can be reached.
“Wherever human beings gather, they go to the school, we will preach there. They enter the ‘fonoo’ (oven), we will preach to them. They enter the car, we will bring them,” he said.
He went further to emphasise the determination of the church to spread the Christian message in different circumstances.
“Even at the back of Okada, we’ll be shouting the name Jesus,” he added.
Rev. Dr. Bempah also called on Christians to become more vocal in expressing their faith, arguing that the spread of Christianity to the present generation is partly due to the willingness of earlier generations of Christians to openly proclaim their faith.
“If the church is truly grateful, we will be loud, loud, loud, loud,” he said, encouraging his congregation to declare publicly that they would not be silent about their faith.
He cautioned Christians against becoming overly concerned about pleasing other people at the expense of their religious convictions.
“Never please people to respect God,” he said, citing the Bible to reinforce his argument.
He also criticised what he described as attempts by some educated Christians to overanalyse or question his position on preaching in public spaces.
“You will get some educated Christians to come and start analysing. My friend, keep your certificate to yourself,” he said.
Rev. Dr. Bempah subsequently referred to Psalm 68:11, the biblical passage that says God gives the word and that a great company publishes it, using the scripture to underscore his position that Christians have a duty to proclaim the gospel.
The pastor’s comments come at a time when the government is intensifying public education on the new road traffic regulations.
The Ministry of Transport says the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1153), and the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), are aimed at strengthening road safety, improving enforcement and promoting greater discipline within Ghana’s transport system.
The ministry has launched a nationwide sensitisation exercise to educate drivers, passengers, transport operators and other road users on the new requirements.
Importantly, the restriction on preaching and hawking in moving vehicles is not entirely new. Similar restrictions were contained in the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180), which prohibited causing or permitting a nuisance, including preaching and hawking, on a public or commercial vehicle while it was in motion.
What has changed under the 2026 regulations is the severity of the potential punishment, with the maximum custodial sentence now reaching eight months.
The restriction specifically concerns activities carried out while the public or commercial vehicle is in motion. It does not, under this provision, amount to a general prohibition on preaching at stationary locations such as lorry terminals or other public spaces.
The government has maintained that the broader regulatory reforms are intended to improve road safety and reduce activities that may cause distractions or disturbances within the transport system.
Rev. Dr. Bempah’s comments therefore add a strong religious perspective to an ongoing public debate over the balance between road safety regulations, passenger comfort and the freedom of religious groups to evangelise in public spaces.
By 1960news.com
