Controversial preacher Gilbert Deya has died following a road crash involving three vehicles on the Bondo-Kisian road, with 30 others injured in the incident. The accident occurred at Namba-Kapiyo area and involved a Toyota Noah driven by Deya, a Moi University school bus, and a Toyota Fortuner belonging to the County Government of Siaya.

According to Nyanza Regional Traffic Boss Peter Maina, the Toyota Noah was heading from Kisian towards Bondo when its driver lost control and rammed into the school bus.

In an attempt to avoid a head-on collision, the bus driver swerved but ended up rolling off the road. The County Government’s Toyota Fortuner, which was trailing the bus, was also hit in the process.

“The deceased, Bishop Gilbert Deya, was driving the Toyota Noah and had two female passengers, believed to be his wife and another woman, who sustained minor injuries,” Maina said.

Maina added that among those injured, 15 were students from the school bus who suffered serious injuries, while another 15 had minor injuries. “In total, we have 31 people were affected, one fatality, 15 students with serious injuries, and 15 with minor injuries,” he said.

The body of Deya was taken to the Kombewa Sub-County Hospital morgue. The injured were also rushed to the same facility, with three of them referred to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital for specialised treatment.

Authorities have launched investigations to establish the exact cause of the accident.

Deya gained national and international attention in the late 1990s and early 2000s through his Gilbert Deya Ministries, claiming to help infertile women conceive “miracle babies” through prayer.

The UK-based ministry came under scrutiny after investigations linked it to a child trafficking network, with allegations that children were stolen from hospitals and poor families in Kenya and given to couples as miracle babies.

He was extradited from the United Kingdom to Kenya in 2017 and charged with multiple counts related to child theft.

Although he denied all charges, the legal battle surrounding his case raised serious questions about religious fraud and child protection.

At the time of his death, Deya had largely retreated from public life but remained a divisive figure in both religious and legal spaces.