Of Televangelists and Human Trafficking

Pastor Gilbert Deya at Milimani Law Courts on August 4th 2017

NAIROBI, Kenya
Controversial pastor and televangelist Mr Glbert Deya was extradited to Kenya today to face charges of human trafficking. He faces five counts of child theft from 1999 to 2004. He is set to spend six days at Kamiti maximum prison.The prison stay will help a Nairobi court determine whether he stands a chance of being freed on bond pending trial.The said offenses were allegedly committed between May 12, 1999, to August 19, 2004, from a house in Nairobi’s Mountain View estate.
The five children alleged to have been stolen by the preacher are believed to have been under 14 years old— three girls and two boys. Mr Deya was accused of depriving unknown parents’ lawful custody of the said children because he possessed and harbored them unlawfully. He was arraigned in court after landing in the country early Friday morning.
His church, Gilbert Deya ministries had a child trafficking racket by misleading Infertile or post-menopausal women that they could have "miracle babies" The women were convinced that being prayed for by Deya and traveling to Kenya would result in a child.But the babies were always "delivered" in backstreet clinics in Nairobi, Kenya's capital.
Mr. Deya later moved to Scotland and was arrested in Edinburgh in 2006 under an international arrest warrant issued by Kenya.The disgraced pastor had fought his extradition to Kenya for 12 years citing torture and death if he were to be handed over to Kenyan authorities.In 2007, his wife, Mary, was sentenced to two years in prison in Kenya after being convicted of stealing a baby.In 2011, she was sentenced to three years in jail after being convicted of stealing another child.
His trial is set to kick off on October 9.