Deya Lawyers ‘Ready to Do Battle’



Archbishop Gilbert Deya’s defence team has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite the embattled pastor to Kenya.

And the legal team, with one of Scotland’s leading Queen’s Counsel (QC) Donald Findlay, has dared the Government to make an extradition move.

At the same time, the team has attacked the Kenya police and judiciary, terming them corrupt and incompetent.

But Kenya High Commissioner Joseph Muchemi has exonerated the Government, saying that the evangelist had never sought his direction.

“Sincerely, the Government of Kenya has no problem with (Mr) Deya. (It) is committed to the well-being of all Kenyans in the world…” said the envoy.

He added that the Deya issue was purely a police affair, and the involvement of the Government was very little.

But lead solicitor Aamer Anwar said, yesterday, that they are ready for any move over the alleged child theft case.

Speaking in London, Mr Anwar said he was not in any position going to be intimidated by calls to have his client flown home for questioning.

Mr Anwar, a top human rights lobbyist in the UK, said he was aware that his client was being targeted for elimination.

“The ball is in Kenyan authorities’ court… We have already taken the necessary steps, and we shall fight to the bitter end.

“The judiciary in Kenya is 50 per cent corrupt, and is the only place in the world that has seen an entire justice system overhauled… We cannot (also) allow a police force that is so brutal and heinous to take away a person being charged wrongly. It is in Kenya where a suspect was taken for interrogation, killed and has not been found after 15 years…” Mr Anwar, who represents eight Al Qaeda suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, charged.

He said that his client has suffered from unfair Press publicity.

“The case has been decided… they want him for a trial that is complete,” said Mr Anwar, who received the 2003 top criminal lawyer award from the UK minister for Social Justice and Equality.
In 1991, he was the first Black to win a case against police brutality in Scotland.

On his part, the 52-year-old QC Findlay has represented clients in more than 13,000 cases.

Source

(Listed if other than Religion News Blog, or if not shown above)
The Nation, Kenya
Sep. 20, 2004
Derek Otieno, London
www.nationmedia.com
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Religion News Blog posted this on Monday September 20, 2004.
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