Preacher Gilbert Deya dies in Kisumu road crash
Televangelist Gilbert Deya.
Preacher Gilbert Deya is dead. The preacher died on Tuesday evening in a multiple-road accident involving three vehicles at Namba Kapiyo on Kisumu-Bondo Road.
A bus belonging to Moi University and a Toyota Fortuner belonging to the Siaya County Government were travelling from Bondo towards Kisian, while the televangelist's Toyota Noah was heading in the opposite direction.
Mr Peter Maina, Nyanza Regional Traffic Enforcement Officer said the driver of the Toyota Noah lost control of the vehicle and hit the oncoming bus.
“While trying to avoid a head-on collision with other vehicles, the bus veered off the road and fell on its side,” said Mr Maina.
The wreckage of Pastor Gilbert Deya's vehicle following the crash near Namba Kapiyo along the Kisumu-Siaya road June 17, 2025.
Fifteen Moi University students, who were on an educational tour in Bondo, sustained serious injuries and were referred to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu for specialised treatment. Thirteen others escaped with minor injuries and were taken to the Kombewa Sub-County Hospital in Seme.
Mr Deya’s vehicle collided head-on with the Fortuner.
'We have since learned that the driver of the Toyota Noah who died was Pastor Gilbert Deya. This was confirmed by his wife, who was also in the vehicle alongside a female passenger," said Mr Maina.
Mr Maina said that the occupants of the Siaya County Government vehicle escaped unhurt. Pastor Deya's body was taken to Kombewa Hospital Mortuary.
The death of the 'Man of God' came as a shock to many Kenyans, with many sending condolence messages and also bringing up his controversial religious journey.
Pastor Deya rose to prominence through his ministry's claims that he could help infertile women conceive through prayer.
However, by the early 2000s, both the UK and Kenyan authorities had begun to scrutinise his activities. Multiple investigations revealed disturbing allegations of child trafficking disguised as divine miracles.
In 2004, the UK High Court ruled that a so-called 'miracle baby' had been trafficked, and that vulnerable women had been assaulted and deceived in order to maintain the pretence. Deya’s wife, Mary (also known as Eddah), was arrested in Nairobi and convicted of stealing a child from a hospital.
The Toyota Fortuner belonging to the County Government of Siaya.
DNA tests later confirmed that none of the children found in the Deya household were biologically related to the couple. A former associate, Rose Atieno Kiserem, later confessed that the miracle births were an orchestrated hoax.
The UK’s Charity Commission placed Gilbert Deya Ministries under formal investigation in 2004 and 2016, citing serious concerns about governance and public protection. Interim managers were appointed in 2021.
Despite being arrested and charged in the UK in 2013 with unrelated sexual offences (of which he was acquitted in 2014), the televangelist faced a prolonged legal battle against extradition to Kenya on charges relating to the trafficking of babies. After exhausting all appeals, he was extradited in August 2017. His legal proceedings in Kenya were further delayed by the pandemic.
In May 2023, Deya testified in his own defence, and in June of that year he was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a credible case. Following his acquittal, Deya expressed his intention to return to the UK.