No preacher has the right to impose beliefs on bus passengers – Kwesi Pratt Jr backs preaching ban

Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr has criticized preachers who use commercial bus rides to impart religious messages about fatal accidents, stating that such preaching exacerbates passengers' stress and anxiety. During a discussion on Metro TV about proposed limitations on preaching and hawking in commercial vehicles, Mr Pratt Jr emphasized that passengers should not have to endure alarming messages during already taxing journeys.

He recounted instances where preachers warn passengers of catastrophic accidents and insist that prayer alone can avert them. "The journey itself is stressful," Mr Pratt Jr remarked, highlighting how some preachers deliver sermons in commercial vehicles without contributing to the cost. He noted that these messages can leave passengers burdened by harrowing descriptions of road crashes, including amputations and decapitations, and questioned their impact on both passengers and drivers, especially on long-distance trips that can last several hours.

"Can you imagine the burden that is imposed on the passengers and the driver, can you imagine it?" he inquired. Mr Pratt Jr argued that the debate should not be reduced to an assault on Christianity, asserting that it also pertains to the rights of passengers who might prefer not to listen to religious messages while traveling. He referred to the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of conscience, including the right to choose a religion or have no religious beliefs.

He also questioned which religious message would be allowed if commercial vehicles were treated as platforms for unrestricted evangelism, acknowledging that passengers may belong to various faiths. "If you say that commercial transport should be free, for spreading the gospel, which gospel?" he asked. Mr Pratt maintained that individuals should be free to practice their faith without imposing it on others, even prior to the bus's departure.

"Even when the bus has not moved, I don’t want to hear anybody telling me how to live my life," he stated. He added that the proposed restriction should be viewed as a means to protect individual rights rather than suppress religious expression. "You can’t come to my house and start telling me how to conduct my life and so on. It’s an infringement of my right," he said, concluding that "the bus station should be sanitized."