Controversial televangelist Gilbert Juma Deya accused of stealing five children in Nairobi now wants court to acquit him for lack of evidence.
In his submissions filed before Milimani principal magistrate Robison Ondieki, Deya through lawyer John Sakwa asked the court to free him.
He said the prosecution has failed to adduce enough evidence to support the charge as levied against him.
"The ingredients of the offence have not been proven to satisfaction," Sakwa said.
The preacher was on August 4, 2017 deported to Kenya from the UK to face child theft charges.
In the case Deya is charged with five counts of stealing five children, all aged under 14, between 2002 and 2004, at Mountain View Estate, Nairobi.
Sakwa submitted that the prosecution presented several exhibits that failed to show the main ingredient, that would place his client at fault and guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.
"There was no evidence pointing to the offence laid out against the accused person," he said.
The lawyer told the court that the prosecution placed the reliance on a number of witnesses who failed to show that Deya received and harboured the children.
He said that it is of importance to note that the testimonies provided only go further to show that the accused was nowhere in the country and could therefore not be linked to the act of receiving and harbouring the children who are the subject matter of the charge sheet.
"It is our humble and most considered submission that the prosecution's case has been a certified failure and a dead wood from ab-initio," the lawyer said.
Sakwa says placing the accused person on his defence will be tantamount to using him to prove the prosecution's case, which has failed miserably beyond redemption.
He said the evidence relied on by the prosecution was marred with inconclusive and inconsistent discrepancies, which cannot mount to safe and secure conviction.
"The entire prosecution case was marred with manipulated inconsistent contradictions, discrepancies and evidence, which cannot mount to a safe and secure conviction," Sakwa told the court.
He also said there was a likelihood that the charges against the accused person, were borne out of malice and ill-will.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
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