Deported Controversial Preacher Gilbert Deya Demands VIP treatment at Kamiti Prison

Controversial televangelist Gilbert Juma Deya has expressed his dissatisfaction with the conditions of the cell room he is locked in at Kamiti Maximum Prison.

Through his lawyer John Swaka, the preacher decried the conditions in the room he has been living in at the prison since his extradition from the UK and described it as pathetic and not fit for human habitat.

The lawyer argued that Britain and Kenya had agreed that Deya would be given VIP treatment while in detention, but Kenyan authorities had defied the agreement.

Swaka told the court that his client was prevented from leaving his room from 7pm, “and because there are no washrooms, he has to use a bucket and keep it in his room till morning”.

“He is made to wash the bucket with his bare hands,” the lawyer said.

“The single room cell is extremely dirty and the mattress has bugs which have been biting my client since August 4.”

Deya's attorney was making presentation in support of bail application filed by his client. Swaka said that, while in Britain, his client met bail conditions while his extradition case was ongoing, and asked the court to grant Deya a bail.

“He will comply with any conditions if freed on bail in Kenya..Prison authorities have told him that what he has been given is the best available,” Swaka added.

Nicholus Mutuku, representing the DPP however, said Deya would be treated like any other inmate, despite the deal between Britain and Kenya, which was silent on the conditions of the cell he would be locked in.

“What was promised was a single cell, which he would occupy alone if remanded. The same applies to him if he is imprisoned. As regards other conditions, owing to silence of the assurance, it means they will depend on what other remandees enjoy,” Mutuku said.

Deya was deported from Britain last week and charged with child trafficking. The court will make ruling on his application to be released on bail on Friday.