A Kenyan court has acquitted a controversial self-styled preacher who claimed he could help infertile couples conceive “miracle babies” through prayer, citing insufficient evidence from prosecutors.
Senior Principal Magistrate Robison Ondieki of the Milimani high court found Gilbert Deya not guilty, ruling on Monday that the prosecution had not produced enough evidence to link the 86-year-old to the charges.
Deya, a former stonemason who moved to London from Kenya as a popular televangelist in the mid-90s, was accused of stealing five children between 1999 and 2004 to buttress his claims.
“The prosecution, having failed to establish circumstantial evidence, I acquit the accused under section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Court [CPC],” Ondieki said.