'When the car starts, put down the Bible' – The ban on ‘trotro’ sermons

By Agnes Fynn

For years, pastors have shared sermons in moving vehicles with anyone who would in commercial buses. In Ghana, it’s not uncommon to see a man or woman with a Bible sharing one biblical message or the other in both long- and short-distance rides in mini buses known as the 'troski', or popularly, 'trotro'.

On September 10, 2026, Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe launched a campaign to explain road traffic laws and encourage compliance. The broader reforms included stricter penalties for certain offences.

One of the road traffic laws was that anyone found culpable of preaching or hawking in a moving commercial vehicle faced a possibility of paying a fine of 10 to 50 penalty units or imprisonment of up to 8 months.

Why does a 14-year-old Law Look New?

Ironically, this practice of preaching in moving vehicles has been illegal since 2012, yet it was in 2026 that some  heard of it for the first time.

The Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180) were made under the authority of the Minister for Transport, pursuant to the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683). Regulation 116 prohibited causing or permitting a nuisance, including preaching and hawking, in a public or commercial vehicle while it was moving.

On May 28, 2026, parliament approved the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), introducing an updated regulatory framework with tougher penalties.

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Why Does Preaching and Hawking Stand Out?

The Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), cover a range of offences beyond preaching and hawking in moving public vehicles. These include driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, using a mobile phone while driving, jumping red lights, speeding, overloading vehicles, driving with unsafe tyres, overcharging passengers and failing to wear seat belts. The sanctions vary, with drink-driving attracting up to 40 months’ imprisonment, while using a mobile phone behind the wheel can attract up to three months’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Despite the range of offences covered by the regulations, this particular provision has attracted considerable public debate, particularly due to religious expression and the livelihoods of hawkers.

What the Pastors Are Saying

The restriction has drawn strong reactions from some Christian leaders, who argue that it could limit the church’s freedom to evangelise.

The Head Pastor of Holy Hill Chapel of the Assemblies of God, Rev. Dr Kwadwo Boateng Bempah, described the restriction as an attempt to “gag the church,” insisting that Christians would continue preaching wherever people gather, and that he would like to see the government try to stop Christians from evangelising.

He questioned why preaching in moving public vehicles should be prohibited while other forms of public preaching, including the use of loudspeakers, continue.

Meanwhile, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Senior Pastor of Victory Bible Church International’s Higher Heights Sanctuary, has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to abandon the restriction, drawing on his own experience of preaching on commercial buses.

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Following these remarks and ongoing debate surrounding the trotro preachers and sellers, President Mahama clarified that people can still preach until the vehicle starts moving.

Christian Kwei (an alias), a former preacher in moving vehicles, says he chose preaching in moving vehicles because it was easy to get the attention of people quietly sitting through their journey.

He added that he was not motivated by money, as some believe trotro preachers are.

“Getting money is not a form of motivation, but it is not bad for someone to preach, and you give the person 5 cedis or 10 cedis," he said.

The former preacher also added that he does not believe there was a 2012 ban on vehicle preaching.

“People are saying the ban on not preaching in a car was there before the recent attention, and I don’t see it to be so. When I used to preach, drivers and mates accepted me. And some drivers are in GPRTU, so if it was really a law, those people would’ve heard it."

The Viewpoint of Passengers

Mary, a frequent trotro passenger, shared her sentiments on the trotro preaching, stressing that there is nothing wrong with it.

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“I encounter them a lot when travelling, and it’s actually not a bad thing, but once you realise that people are not paying attention to the product you’re selling or to the preaching, I think they should just leave. But I personally like the preaching to the selling of products," she said.

She added that the sermon only becomes inconvenient when it’s too long.

“I feel like the preaching in the car is actually good. It becomes inconvenient when the preacher preaches for too long. It could be just a little word of God and say a prayer for us travelling; that’s it."

Bernard also says, “I don’t care about people preaching or selling in tro tro, because mostly when I’m in a tro tro I have headphones listening to music. Even if I don’t have them on, once someone gets up to preach or sell, I put them on immediately."

“Christians are told to spread the gospel, but when you’re preaching in a tro tro, you don’t assume everyone is a Christian, so let me just spread the gospel to them, because you never see a Muslim or traditionalist spreading their teachings in a tro tro. It can be an inconvenience when people want peace and quiet after work.

Bernard also said that sermon may be what somebody in that troski needs to get through life.

“On the other hand, it can be that someone is going through something, but based on what a preacher might say in the Troski, someone might have some renewed strength," he added.

Trotro sermons and Hawking have been among Ghanaians for 14 years, despite being illegal. Now the question remains: is this law going to work, or will it diminish as Fugu Wednesday diminished? Only time, regulation and enforcement will tell.