‘Bishop of Peckham’ is kicked out of UK after 11-year battle
THE self- proclaimed ‘Archbishop of Peckham’ has been extradited to Kenya following an 11-year human rights battle to face charges of child trafficking.
Gilbert Deya, 65, has been wanted by police in his homeland since 2004, when it was claimed he and his wife had stolen or bought up to 50 babies from poor Kenyans.
They were said to have given the infants to infertile British women who had donated to Deya’s church.
The women are said to have been told they would receive children from ‘miracle’ births in Africa.
Deya used the European Convention on Human Rights to wage a battle against his extradition after he was detained on an international arrest warrant in London in 2006.
But three weeks ago, the High Court in London rejected his case, with a judge describing the delays as ‘scandalous’.
Deya arrived in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to face justice yesterday morning, the Home Office said.
He was remanded in custody at maximum- security Kamiti prison prior to a bail hearing next week. His trial is scheduled for October.
In 2004, ten children were found at the home he shared with his wife Mary in the UK. None had a genetic link to the Deyas, and there was no explanation for their presence.
They have since lived at a special children’s home in Kenya, with some reaching adulthood not know- ing who their real parents are. Most are said to have been stolen from a maternity hospital in Nairobi.
The charges relate to five allegedly taken between 1999 and 2004.
Deya drove a Bentley around Britain while building Gilbert Deya Ministries congregations in Peckham and Sutton in south London, Manchester and Scotland.
Through his church he bought a £1.3m HQ in Sutton last year. Charity records show he received donations of almost £1million a year, and had £1million in the bank.
Successive home secretaries including Theresa May tried to have him extradited, but Deya repeatedly claimed he would be at risk in Kenya and sending him there would infringe his human rights.
In 2013 the Home Office sent former Inspector of Prisons Lord Ramsbotham to Kenya to assess Kamiti prison. He visited three jails on Deya’s account and described Kamiti as ‘very relaxed’.