Bishop Gilbert Deya now a free man after acquittal in child theft case

Bishop Gilbert Deya is a free man after a Nairobi court acquitted him of all the five charges in a child theft case.

Milimani senior principal magistrate Robison Ondieki ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the preacher.

Deya was on August 4, 2017 deported to Kenya from the UK to face child theft charges.

In the case, Deya had been charged with five counts of stealing five children, all aged under 14, between 2002 and 2004, at Mountain View Estate, Nairobi.

His wife was also charged in connection with the stealing of children but was also set free.

Addressing the media after his release, Deya said that he has forgiven his persecutors, saying that he is going 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 said

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.