Bishop Gilbert Deya comes up with 'miracle cure' for cancer and HIV/Aids

Gilbert Deya of the miracle babies infamy, has been caught in yet another ‘miracles’ scandal after he was allegedly found selling olive oil with a promise that it cures cancer and HIV and Aids.

Deya, who left Kenya for London in the wake of accusations of child abduction, was caught by a  newspaper in the United Kingdom selling 750ml of olive oil that costs Sh200 for about Sh750.

The preacher and his team are said to have been selling the oil bought from Aldi, a supermarket in

South London.

With every bottle sold, Deya who now calls himself ‘Archbishop of Peckham' promised the buyers that the oil has miracle powers that would heal them of the diseases.

Deya of Gilbert Deya Ministries is not new to controversy since he publicly proclaimed that he could help infertile women bear children. He has also faced sex related offences in a London court.

The new allegations against Deya were reported yesterday by a British newspaper.

The article published by The Sun details how Deya and one of his associates identified as Pastor Kamara, allegedly gave a couple that was doing an undercover investigation, a badly-spelled leaflet that said Deya and his team had "mystical powers" that could help in overcoming illness and debt.

Brian Lynn and Lee Sorrel, the reporters who compiled the investigative story on Deya and his team, say Kamara explained to the undercover couple that they should not use any oil except the one they got from Deya.

"Do not use any oil except this and the cancer will just disappear," said Kamara.

It further gives shocking details on how the couple, who were posing as people who needed help, was taken to a room in Deya's church and a pastor rubbed oil on the woman's chest, declaring that it is the start of her miracle.

She was then pushed to the ground, and the "witchcraft" in her was ordered to leave immediately. British newspapers are now comparing Deya's miracle oil saga to the classic BBC comedy: "Only Fools and Horses" that features two brothers who are hungry to get rich quickly and do anything to make easy money. Interestingly, the show was set in Peckham where Deya's 'Olive Oil' ministry is based.

Deya was ordained by the United Evangelical Church of Kenya and he became a charismatic evangelist in the late 80s and early 90s before he moved to the UK to establish the Gilbert Deya Ministries in 1997.

In earlier interviews, Deya has always said his decision to move to the UK was motivated by a "call from God" and "hostile political environment" he faced in Kenya while trying to spread the word of God.

In 2006, Deya hit headlines in Kenya and beyond when he was accused of stealing babies with the help of his wife. He was sought for allegedly stealing five children from Pumwani Maternity Hospital, and giving false promises to infertile women, claiming he could help them bear children through the use a miracle oil and divine intervention.

Later, he was also accused of sexually abusing different women in London, but was acquitted of the charges.

On the emerging accusations about the oil that cures cancer, The Sun newspaper reports that Deya has refused to comment, saying that said he did not talk to "evil liars who are confused".

Back in Kenya, Deya's family defended him against the fresh wave of allegations.

"I have known my son ever since he was young. What people are saying about him is wrong. I have known him as a very prayerful person who had no problem with anyone in the neighbourhood and he has neither fought nor harmed any person," said his mother Monica Deya when The Standard visited her home at Got Abiero in Bondo, Siaya County.

The Deyas house is surrounded by a brick wall and a live fence. There are also three big black gates on three sides of the rectangular perimeter wall. After numerous knocks on all the gates and unsuccessfully trying to gain access to the compound, a woman who turned out to be Deya's sister-in-law Margaret Onyango came to our rescue.

Family, relatives and neighbours back home continue to receive with shock the new turn of events in the controversial bishop's life.

Deya's mother expressed her disappointment with the manner in which many "people were saying bad things about my son". Deya is the eldest son in a family of nine children.

She praised her son as obedient and honest and one who helps those around him. "He has helped me. He brought down my grass thatched and mud-walled hut and built me this permanent residence with electricity. I am no longer rained on," said Mrs Deya.

She took a swipe at Deya's critics over allegations that he and his wife Mary once stole babies.

"Is my son mad to just start picking children from one home to another? Can a sane person do that knowing that it is wrong? My son cannot do that and no child has ever been brought to this home," she said.

On the latest allegations that Deya is selling olive oil as a miracle cure for cancer and HIV, his mother said for a sick person to be cured, they have to have faith in the healing power of God.

"It is God who heals, not the oil, you must have faith for you to be healed," she said.

The elderly woman, who is strong and still ploughs her land, has only one prayer: That all this will end and her son will one day come home.

"I really miss him. I want to see him. It is always a mother's joy to see her long-lost son," she said. Deya's sister-in-law said: "Whatever people are saying about the bishop is shocking and false."