A lawyer for the wife of a Kenyan pastor accused of child trafficking has accused police of torturing her.
Mary Deya, 57, was arrested on Saturday after saying she had given birth – claims denied by local doctors.
Lawyer Cliff Ombeta has filed a legal request for her to be released or brought to court and charged. He says she should be charged within 24 hours.
UK-based televangelist Gilbert Deya says he can make infertile women pregnant through prayer.
Mr Ombeta told the BBC that Mrs Deya had been “tortured” and manhandled by the police.
“What she needs right now is medical attention. The police are not doing that at the moment. They have actually denied her food and water for the last 24 hours.”
Ante-natal classes
On her claims to have given birth, he told the Daily Nation newspaper:
“She often dresses in African outfits and I have not been able to figure out if she was pregnant or not.”
She arrived at the Nairobi hospital early on Saturday morning with a baby still attached to the placenta, said the hospital’s chief executive officer Dr Cleopa Mailu.
She was treated and then transferred to a different hospital, where Mrs Deya said she had been attending ante-natal classes.
Police say she will be charged with child theft and giving false information.
Kenyan police allege the Gilbert Deya Ministries is an international baby-snatching ring and have 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.
A year ago, they took 20 of Mr Deya’s “miracle babies” into care in Nairobi after they were found to have no genetic link to the women claiming to be their mothers.
The pastor denies involvement in child trafficking and his lawyer says his client will not receive a fair trial if he is extradited to Kenya.
Gilbert Deya is now based in Glasgow and is claiming political asylum in Scotland.