Controversial Televangelist Bishop Deya Acquitted in Child Theft Case

Controversial televangelist Bishop Gilbert Juma Deya has been acquitted of stealing five children.

Nairobi’s Milimani senior principal magistrate Robison Ondieki ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against Deya.

The court said the burden of proof against the accused was wanting as none of the evidence placed the accused where the subjects were recovered.

The suspicion being strong cannot make someone guilty, he said.

“The prosecution having failed to establish circumstantial evidence, I acquit the accused under section 250 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)”, the magistrate ruled.

Deya was facing five counts of stealing children in 2017.

Addressing the media outside the courtroom, the televangelist said that he has forgiven his persecutors, saying that he is moving back to the UK to continue with his ministry.

“The case tinted my name …but I’m happy that I’m going back to the ministry…I’m happy that I’ve been acquitted,” he told reporters.

His lawyer John Swaka had submitted that the evidence relied on by the prosecution was marred with inconclusive and inconsistent discrepancies, which cannot mount to safe and secure conviction.