Miracle Babies Scandal : Kenyan 'miracle babies' pastor, Gilbert Deya acquitted of child trafficking Because Of Insufficient Evidence
An evangelical pastor from Kenya, Gilbert Deya, who was suspected of being involved in the theft of children presented as "miracle babies," has been acquitted by a Nairobi court on Monday.
The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges against him.
Gilbert Deya, 86, a former stonemason who resided in London during the 1990s, was accused of stealing five children between 1999 and 2004.
However, the magistrate, Robison Ondieki, determined that the prosecution had failed to present enough evidence to proceed with the case.
John Swaka, the reverend's lawyer, stated that the charges were unfounded and could not hold up in court.
He assured the press that his client was "very happy" with the acquittal. Gilbert Deya, who owns multiple churches in London, Liverpool, and Nottingham, was extradited from Britain to Kenya in 2017 after a decade-long legal battle.
The reverend and his wife, Mary, claimed that through their prayers, infertile or menopausal women could conceive within four months without having sexual relations.
However, the prosecution argued that the babies had actually been stolen, mostly from the maternity ward of Pumwani Hospital in Nairobi, a deprived suburb of the capital.
Kenya, a predominantly Christian country in East Africa, has approximately "4,000 churches," according to official figures, including those led by self-proclaimed pastors with no theological training.
Recent incidents, such as the discovery of bodies of worshippers linked to a sect that practiced starvation to "meet Jesus Christ," have raised concerns about the need for greater regulation of churches.
The sect's leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, is currently facing terrorism charges in connection with the case, with nearly 400 bodies found in the Shakahola forest on the Kenyan coast.
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