Gilbert Juma Deya, the self-styled Archbishop of Peckham truly enjoys controversy.
He revels in drama, and it seems he is not comfortable when he is not in some kind of controversy.
This past week, he has been in the news for all, as usual, the wrong reasons. He is never in the news for the right reason anyway.
On Monday, the British media published stories of his latest “miracle”. Deya, who has continued to hog the headlines in Britain and his native Kenya over the years for many wrong reasons, was accused of flogging extra virgin olive oil as a wonder cure for cancer.
The London tabloid The Sun reported that the 63-year-old “Archbishop” is fleecing gullible church-goers in what it called cash-for-miracles scam.
But Deya has accused the media of being biased, and called the reporters “agents of the devil.”
His wife, Mary Deya, who was jailed in Kenya for child abduction, has also accused the media of fanning hostility and sponsoring attacks against her husband.
Even though he loves controversy, approaching him for an interview or contacting his church, the Gilbert Deya Ministries in Southwark, south London, is like trying to enter Kenya Defence Forces headquarters without an appointment.
Deya, who is known in Kenya for praying for infertile or barren women and then they get babies — miracle babies — is simply not approachable.Even the indefatigable British press photographers have had to ambush him on the streets to get his pictures.
On Tuesday, Sunday Magazine called the numbers for the Gilbert Deya Ministries in Ormside Street, Peckham, South London and all of them were out of order.
We then contacted the Gilbert Deya Ministries in Church Road, Aston, Birmingham, seeking to speak to his son, Pastor Amos Deya.
The younger Deya answered the phone, and was willing to speak, but when we introduced ourselves, he claimed we had called a wrong number. When we insisted, he said we had called a “packaging company.”
Then the line went dead.
Even as his son was hanging up on us, Archbishop Deya never seems bothered by the scathing, or even damning headlines in the British media.
He loves them and believes, nay, trusts that any publicity is good publicity.
One man who knows Deya closely is his biographer, Gakuru Macharia, a prominent diaspora journalist and author.
Macharia, who penned, Deya and the Miracle Babies, met the controversial preacher many times when he was working on the 272-page book.
“In my opinion, Deya is quite complicated,” says Macharia. “He is never shaken or moved by controversies and he has a following despite a reputation tarnished by the miracle babies saga, extradition case, murder of his grandson by his adopted son and the jailing of his wife over the babies saga.”
Macharia sees Deya as a newsmaker and thinks he has the ability to love all the media attention regardless of how negative reports about him are. While writing Deya’s authorised biography, Macharia had full access to him daily.
“I was publishing his work and therefore, exclusively, had access to many documents. After all, he had authorised his biography.”
Do all these controversies hit Deya hard, making him restless?
“No,” says Macharia. “Deya enjoys media and public attention. He knows every publicity works in its own way and he does not mind what you write.”
Macharia says he once thought Deya was getting too much bad publicity and would therefore be willing to do something about it, but his concerns were dismissed.
“Who would give a semi-illiterate man miles of print run, in the best read newspapers in the world,” Deya asked him.
“Who would make me a top news at prime time on TV stations BBC, CNN, NBC without paying a penny? A village boy born in sisal farms of Juja in Kiambu by labourers from Got Abiero Village in Bondo, Siaya? Let them write what they want.”
I asked if he felt the British media was hounding him. “Probably no.” Macharia says, and adds that Deya understands publicity very well. “There is no bad publicity [for him] especially at the international level. He understands people’s psyche and I think the current controversy will make him laugh all the way to the bank. He is a smart man who is plays the victim to win the sympathy of his followers. I think he will do very well with the publicity he is getting now as his congregation will increase.”
On the latest controversy, Macharia has his own views which he shares candidly: “When people talk of faith, normal reasoning goes out of the window. We have seen suicide bombers blowing themselves up in the name of their faith. If there are individuals who claim they have been healed by Deya’s olive oil even when they are dying and there is scientific evidence to prove that it is not a cure, who are we to say otherwise?”
Macharia says that these kinds of things are common practice in faith-based organisations, and thinks that The Sun’s story was done without proper investigation.
“Most charismatic churches, especially those led by African and Caribbean pastors practice ‘touch to heal’ which is common. The practice of planting seed, anointing oil, buying blessed handkerchiefs, books, magazines, badges, suits, head scarfs from the church is common practice.”
He says it is a question of personal belief. “To charismatic churches, these items are fronted as points of contact, an entry point to your healing, your wealth, your freedom from generational curses or your blessing to get a baby if you are barren or an invitation to a husband or a wife if you are single.”
Usually, the merchandise are prayed for by specific pastors with specific “healing” powers and therefore good for raising funds.
Macharia says some of these charismatic churches are like multinationals who promote their products.
“Companies, especially those which manufacture sports equipment always claim their products improve athletes’ performance. The only difference is that spiritual claims are so difficult to prove scientifically.”
Will Deya be forced to change in view of the current outcry?
“Deya has his form of beliefs, probably a religion by himself,” Macharia says. “He does not associate, collaborate or invite other organisations to his own. In fact, in his prime, he had pastors and congregations in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Reading, Cardiff and many other cities in the UK. He believes in himself and has the energy and the money. He cannot reform and in any case, what would he become?”
Although Deya can pass as a popular “archbishop” Kenyans in the UK tend to keep away from his churches.
“His greatest asset has been his association with West Africans and people from the Caribbean. Kenyans have not bought in to his doctrine,” Macharia, who regularly speaks on the phone with Deya, says.
What are Deya’s greatest assets?
“His ability to play the victim, and consider himself innocent has worked in his favour. He is shrewd at the same time and that is why he has never been thrown behind bars.”
Macharia says for Deya to stay out of prison in the UK, where the justice system works and bribery is not easy, is an amazing feat.
Then there was the issue of his wife, Mary, getting jailed in Kenya over the miracle babies saga. “Staying put while his wife was rotting in jail is proof that he is very strong,” Macharia says. “Do not forget that his adopted son Paul killed his own baby, and his faith was not shaken.”
Then there is the persecution by the media. Looking back, from a Christian point of view, Macharia, says one can easily argue that there is some “godliness” in Deya.
“Maybe we may never understand who Archbishop Gilbert Juma Deya actually is.”
Macharia is currently working on his next book, “Trials and Tribulations of Gilbert Deya.” It will probably lift the lid on Deya’s controversial life, and reveal a lot more that his followers and the media, would be interested in.
