The Kenyan attorney general has issued a warrant for the arrest of a British-based evangelical pastor who claims to have helped infertile women in his congregation deliver ”miracle babies”.
Gilbert Deya, the leader of the Gilbert Deya Ministries, who styles himself archbishop, was named by Kenyan authorities who are investigating the theft and trafficking of children.
His wife, Mary Deya, appeared in court in Nairobi this week along with another British woman and three other people who all claim they gave birth through the power of prayer. DNA tests on the children concluded that they and their alleged mothers could not be related. The women are charged with stealing a baby from a maternity hospital.
The Guardian understands the Kenyan attorney general will ask for an international warrant from Interpol and that it will seek the extradition of the charismatic pastor who is the leader of a congregation of 36 000 people and has churches in south London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Nottingham. If extradited, the pastor will face charges of child trafficking.
Deya has appointed a human rights and anti-racism lawyer, Aamer Anwar, to defend him. Anwar said: ”Our client denies the allegations against him. He says he does not believe he would receive a fair trial within Kenya because of prejudicial publicity.”
Police are investigating claims that the church is a front for a child-smuggling ring that steals babies from impoverished mothers in Nairobi. All of the so-called miracle mothers have gone to Nairobi to deliver the babies, though most were living in the UK.
Many gave birth after a gestation time of just a few months, many were post-menopause and one claimed to have stopped having sex.
Deya has previously been investigated following complaints by child protection agencies because he performs exorcisms on children. He has also attracted the attention of the Charity Commission because of the funding of the church which is on a tithe basis.
The pastor claims to use prayer to exorcise demons from inside women who are not able to have children. He says he has videos and photographs of the births to prove the children were not stolen.
The church’s website boasts that it is ”the fastest growing ministry in the UK”. It says: ”We believe in miracle signs and wonders, casting out devils, healing the sick and setting captives free in Jesus’s name.”
In a statement Deya says he will refuse to take a DNA test to establish who the parents of his own children are.
He said: ”We have lost confidence in the Kenya [sic] authority. There is no way we shall accept the results of any DNA tests … If they have lied that I am trafficking children … then it is easy for anything else they say to be a lie … I refute the lies, 100%.” – Guardian Unlimited Â