Ghana: Where the preacher gets a free ride

Emotions run high in Ghana, where preachers board coaches, buses and TroTros to preach the gospel and make money for themselves and their families. The government in Accra wants to make this long standing practise illegal, with time behind bars as a possible consequence for violating the law. Some pastors argue they started their churches in such settings, and others argue only this way they can take their children to school or universities.

Pastors defending this practice further argue that bus drivers give preachers permission to enter their buses and preach the gospel. Passengers who want a quiet ride from, e.g. Kumasi to Accra and focus on their smartphones or read a book feel disturbed by these preachers. They argue they pay for the bus tickets and the bus tickets pay for the driver.

Preachers in Ghana stand at many corners of many streets preaching the gospel. Pedestrians can walk by and listen, feel inspired, entertained or drawn closer to God and a particular Man of God. At any time, they are free to walk around and ignore the Man of God to find the peace of mind they want. In a bus, TroTro or coach, the situation is very different. The passenger who pays for the bus ride and wants peace of mind is confronted with an unwanted situation where the gospel is preached to him. He has little choice but to let unwanted things happen, very much like a hostage hoping for the best and for the time to come to be released and set free. This situation is completely different from street preaching. Even when someone enters a church building and sees things in it he does not like or agree with, on the spot he can turn around and leave the church building again. On a bus,s this situation is not the same. Freedom of movement is restricted and limited for as long as the bus is moving to the final destination paid for.

When preachers insist to practise long standing traditions bus companies must be mandated either to pay back the fare to passengers who feel distrubed by these preachers, put up signs in each bus indicating this is a bus where preachers can preach the bibel while others with no such sign displayed buses, coaches and TroTros are preacher free. Passengers can then choose freely which ride they accept.

In Germany, bars must be marked either as smoker or non-smoker bars for party folks to have a free choice.