Gilbert Deya Ministries

Gilbert Deya Ministries is a Christian ministry based in England set up by Gilbert Deya. It is best known for its claims to be able to deliver 'miracle babies' to infertile women, but has been subject to a High Court ruling that said that the ministry had been involved in the smuggling of babies out of Kenya. The church claims to be "the fastest growing Ministry in the UK and worldwide".

History

Gilbert Deya was an evangelist in Kenya in the late 1980s to early 1990s, but moved to the UK, establishing Gilbert Deya Ministries in 1997. The ministry now has churches in Liverpool, London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Luton, Reading, and Manchester,Sheffield and has recently acquired a building and planning permission in Leeds. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/diary/story/0,,1683473,00.html]

'Miracle Babies' & Baby Smuggling

The Gilbert Deya Ministries claim that Deya's powers allow him to be able to cause infertile women to become pregnant. Mr Deya claims that "through the power of prayer and the Lord Jesus" he has helped sterile women give birth. In the UK, one woman is claimed to have had three children in less than a year. Deya admits the women travel to Kenya, in order to "give birth". Deya's wife, Eddah, was arrested during November 2004 in Nairobi and charged with stealing children. Ten children, none of whom had any genetic connection to the Deya family, were found at Mr Deya's House. Twenty babies have been placed in foster care in Kenya after DNA tests showed they had no connection to their alleged mothers.

Deya has a warrant out for his arrest in Kenya for the trafficking of babies out of the country. The Kenyan police have alleged that the ministry is a baby-snatching ring, and they have petitioned for his extradition from the UK. Mr Deya is currently seeking political asylum from his base in Glasgow. According to a BBC report on 16 June 2006, he has now been arrested by police at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

In November 2004 the High Court in the UK ruled that a 'miracle baby' in London was the victim of child trafficking, and that the supposed miracle displayed was a ruse in order to generate funds from a "deceived congregation". Mr Justice Ryder ruled that in order to maintain the illusion of a genuine birth, the child's 'mother' was seriously assaulted "and a live child who had been born to another family was presented to her as her child." He also ruled that " [the baby's] birth as described was a falsehood not a miracle."

On 13th December 2006, Mr Deya was arrested in London by the Metropolitan Police. A police spokesman said Gilbert Deya was detained under an arrest warrant issued by Kenyan authorities, who had charged him with child trafficking. He was ordered by a court on 8th November 2007, to be extradited from the UK to Kenya to face five counts of child stealing.

ources

*BBC News story: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4006945.stm 'Miracle baby' a victim - judge]
*BBC News story: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5083534.stm 'Miracle baby' pastor held in UK] , accessed 16 June 2006.
*BBC News story: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7074007.stm 'The mystery of 'miracle babies"]

External links

* [http://www.deyaministries.com Gilbert Deya Ministries website]
* [http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-29-2004-59907.asp Gilbert Deya]
* [http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category-cat=877.html Religion News Blog's news archive on Gilbert Deya]