'Miracle baby' pastor held in
UK
Kenyan
evangelist Gilbert Deya, accused of child trafficking, faces
deportation after his arrest in Scotland this week
From BBC News
June 15,
2006—Mr Deya denies accusations that he ran
a child trafficking ring on the pretext of praying for his
followers to conceive via miraculous powers.
Reports say Mr Deya was
arrested at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where he had gone to
assist with a paternity case.
An official there reportedly
recognised him as the wanted man. He is now in the custody of
UK immigration officials.
Police in Kenya had issued
a warrant of arrest for him after his wife, Mary, was arrested
in Nairobi in September and charged with involvement in child
trafficking.
She was arrested after she
arrived at a hospital with a newborn baby to which she claimed
to have given birth.
Doctors who examined Mrs
Deya, 57, said her claim of recently having given birth was false.
Extradition request
Kenyan police allege the
Gilbert Deya Ministries is an international baby-snatching ring
and last year asked the UK government to extradite Mr Deya.
They say their investigation
revolves around the disappearance of babies from Nairobi's Pumwani
Maternity Hospital and involves suspects in Britain, Ghana, Nigeria,
Uganda and Kenya.
In 2004, the Kenyan
authorities took 20 of Mr Deya's "miracle babies" into
care after they were found to have no genetic link to the women
claiming to be their mothers.