High Court quashes controversial televangelist Deya's chances of leaving prison

The High Court has quashed a decision to release televangelist Gilbert Deya on bond.

The prosecution had filed an appeal opposing a lower court's granting of Sh1 million to the controversial preacher.

“The High Court has quashed the decision to release Televangelist Gilbert Deya on bond as awarded by CM Francis Andayi,” the National Prosecution Authority tweeted on Friday.

.@ODPP_KE The High Court has quashed the decision to release Televangelist Gilbert Deya on bond as awarded by CM Francis Andayi. The prosecution had filed an appeal opposing lower court's granting of Sh 1 million to Deya. pic.twitter.com/eU7vcfBX4i — ODPP_KE (@ODPP_KE) January 26, 2018

A Nairobi Court granted bond terms to Deya in December, who had been behind bars since August 4, 2017.

The successful bond re-application through lawyer John Swaka was granted when it became clear that prosecution would not be able to conclude its case within 120 days set by the court as there were still many witnesses lined up to testify.

The court had previously denied the international preacher bond on grounds that he was a flight risk.

In light of this, the court had undertaken to conduct Deya's case within the shortest time possible, directing prosecution to finish its case within 120 days.

While granting him bail, Milimani Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi directed that the preacher was to execute a bond of Sh1 million and two sureties of a similar amount.

Deya was deported from United Kingdom to Kenya in August, 2017.

HE was ordained by the United Evangelical Church of Kenya and styles himself as "Archbishop".

He was an evangelist in Kenya in the late 1980s to early 1990s and moved to the UK, establishing Gilbert Deya Ministries in 1997.

The Bishop is facing child trafficking charges following accusations that he coordinated in trafficking of children, who his church would later present as ‘miracles’ for barren mothers.

Police also alleged that Deya stole five children between May 1999 and December 2004 from Pumwani Hospital to facilitate his ‘miracle babies’ project.

In 2005, his wife Mary was handed a three-year jail term after she was found guilty of stealing a child from the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi.

Mary falsely claimed that the baby was hers, but it was later confirmed that she had stolen it.

On 13 December 2006, Deya was apprehended in London by the Metropolitan Police.

A police spokesman said he was detained under an arrest warrant issued by Kenyan authorities, who had charged him with child abduction and trafficking.

He was ordered by a court on 8 November 2007, to be extradited from the UK to Kenya to face five counts of child trafficking.