Controversial self-styled preacher Gilbert Deya is dead at 88 years of age.
His legacy is controversial, marred by the “miracle baby” scandal and his dramatic deportation.
Here is what the Gilbert Deya controversy is all about.
Gilbert Deya Child Trafficking Scandal
Gilbert Deya rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a televangelist who claimed he could help infertile and post-menopausal women conceive through prayer.
He founded Gilbert Deya Ministries, which attracted a large following, especially among desperate couples seeking children. His ministry had churches in cities like London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
The so-called miracle babies were reportedly born just months after Deya’s prayers, often without any medical confirmation of pregnancy. Many of these “births” allegedly occurred in backstreet clinics in Nairobi, Kenya.
Investigations later revealed that the babies were not biological children of the women who claimed to have given birth. In many cases, DNA tests proved no relationship between the women and the babies. Prosecutors claimed the babies were stolen from poor families in Nairobi.
Deportation
In 2006, Deya was arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland, under an international warrant. After a long legal battle to avoid deportation, he was extradited to Kenya in 2017. His wife at the time, Mary Deya, had already been convicted and jailed in Kenya in 2011 for stealing a baby.
In July 2023, a Nairobi court acquitted Deya of child trafficking due to lack of sufficient evidence. The magistrate said the prosecution failed to establish a strong link between Deya and the allegations.
After the verdict, Deya said he had been wrongfully labelled a child thief and that the charges had ruined his reputation. He declared his intention to return to ministry work.
Deya claimed he was ordained as an archbishop by the United Evangelical Churches of America in 1992. Before moving to the UK, he was already a known televangelist in Kenya. Despite the legal troubles, he maintained a loyal following.
His name resurfaced again in June 2025 when he died in a car crash while driving a Toyota Noah. The car collided with a Moi University bus on the Kisumu–Bondo Road, killing Deya and injuring several students.
Though acquitted, the legacy of Gilbert Deya remains deeply divisive. To his followers, he was a man of faith. To critics, he was a manipulative figure who exploited vulnerable people under the guise of religion.
By Vivian K.