Pastor Paul Waiganjo, the aspirant who pulled out of the upcoming Ol Kalou by-election, set for July 16, after losing in the primaries, has a loose tongue that has made him more popular than his political ambition and inevitably landed him in trouble.
Mr Waiganjo loves invoking names and titles and is a classic example of a mouth that said no, and later became the hand that said yes.
When Sunday Nation contacted him on June 17, seeking an interview after he lost the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) ticket to Mr Sammy Kamau Ngotho, Mr Waiganjo took the opportunity to praise himself.
"I am now an adviser to President William Ruto on national matters, especially development," Mr Waiganjo told Sunday Nation , without further details, even after we probed him to produce an appointment letter or a Gazette Notice.
Normally, government appointments are announced through a Gazette Notice outlining the assigned role and its duration.
For Mr Waiganjo, there was none, save for a roadside declaration made by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano while campaigning for United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate, Mr Samuel Muchina.
"Waiganjo has a job. I hear some people are asking, 'What job?' Because I have his papers here. Waiganjo will be the adviser to the government on development issues across Kenya," Ms Miano announced.
The announcement came a few weeks after Mr Waiganjo alleged that he had been shortchanged during the DCP primaries amid claims that he was a mole working for the government.
Mr Waiganjo gave it his all during the campaigns, hiring helicopters, staging music extravaganzas backed by popular Mount Kenya benga musicians and making church appearances that attracted a huge congregation. Despite all that, the ballot box remained empty.
Sammy Ngotho displays his certificate after being crowned the winner of the Ol Kalou DCP nomination held on May 9, 2026. He garnered 12,957 votes against his closest contender, Paul Waiganjo, who managed to get 4,978 votes.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
"I am very disappointed. There was no transparency during the DCP nominations. I was the most popular candidate, and my victory was stolen," Mr Waiganjo told Sunday Nation in an interview.
But before the nominations, Mr Waiganjo had ruffled feathers after claiming that Jubilee Party, through former President Uhuru Kenyatta, was courting him to vie for the Ol Kalou seat on its ticket and that UDA was also offering him a staggering Sh300 million and an additional Sh400 million for local infrastructure if he contested on the ruling party's ticket.
"Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has been calling me, but I did not respond because I was in a meeting and had not saved his number. He wanted me to be the Jubilee Party candidate in the upcoming Ol Kalou by-election, but I refused because the party is dead. UDA, on the other hand, has been courting me and offering me Sh300 million if I vie in Ol Kalou using their party. They have also promised me an additional Sh400 million for road infrastructure, but I have turned down their overtures," Mr Waiganjo said before the UDA and DCP primaries were held.
"They are courting me because they know I am the most popular candidate in Ol Kalou. I want to assure you I will never join UDA because I have never been a member, and I will never dine with evil," he claimed.
After losing the nominations, Mr Waiganjo has now been campaigning for the UDA candidate in the upcoming by-election, maintaining that he chose to support the ruling party because it is offering development to the people.
"DCP is offering nothing, and I decided to support the UDA candidate because that is where the development is," he said.
Mr Waiganjo has also been at loggerheads with the DCP and especially with the party leader, Mr Rigathi Gachagua , after claiming that during the formative stages of the outfit, he donated millions of shillings to support its establishment and sustain its operations.
"I offered a lot of money to Rigathi Gachagua’s DCP, but he is ungrateful, and there is no fairness in that party," Mr Waiganjo said. He could not provide any evidence to support his claims, and there is no publicly available evidence to support his assertions.
Samuel Muchina Nyaga displays his provisional certificate of nomination after he was declared the winner in the Ol Kalou UDA nominations on May 8, 2026.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
Mr Gachagua has been quoted in the media as saying that the party was aware of some moles allegedly planted by UDA to contest in the party primaries and later defect to their financiers after winning.
Since the death of the incumbent, the government has been making inroads into the constituency to drum up support for its candidate, Samuel Muchina of UDA, while the DCP has been staging door-to-door campaigns, rallying locals to vote for its candidate, Sammy Kamau Ngotho.
