Paul Kariuki Njiru

Paul Kariuki Njiru (born March 11, 1963) is the Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Wote Diocese in Kenya.

Seminary formation and studies
Paul Kariuki Njiru was born in Kyeni, Embu. After schooling, he studied at St. Joseph's Seminary and then St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Nairobi. In 1991 the Pontifical Urban University awarded him a bachelor's degree for his studies while in Kenya. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Embu on March 1, 1993. As a parish priest, he worked in Kairuri parish and served as a diocesan youth chaplain. He was the education secretary for Catholic schools in Embu Diocese. Having studied for six years in Rome, he was then awarded an S.T.L. (1999) and an S.T.D. (2002) in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

In a 2024 book about plagiarism at the Gregorian University, researchers Michael Dougherty and Alkuin Schachenmayr argued that Njiru's dissertation was plagiarized, showing that very many passages were copied from uncredited authors like cardinals Leo Joseph Suenens and Albert Vanhoye.

Bishop of Embu
Pope Benedict XVI nominated him Bishop of Embu on May 9, 2009. He was ordained on July 25. The consecrating bishops were Archbishop John Cardinal Njue of Nairobi, Peter J. Kairo, Archbishop of Nyeri, and Anthony Muheria, Bishop of Kitui.

He is chairman of the Catholic Health Commission of Kenya, a commission formed by the Kenyan Bishops' Conference. As chairman, he has oversight of the 58 hospitals, 83 health centers, 311 dispensaries, and 17 medical training institutions owned and operated by the Catholic Church in Kenya.

Bishop of Wote
Pope Francis erected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wote in Makueni County in 2023, separating it from the Diocese of Machakos and appointing Njiru to be the first bishop. Soon after, the pope issued a statement allowing priests to bless same-sex unions, Njiru prohibited such blessings in Wote Diocese.

Publications

 * Charisms and the Holy Spirit's Activity in the Body of Christ: An Exegetical-Theological Study of 1 Corinthians 12,4–11 and Romans 12,6–8 [Doctoral dissertation] (Rome: Ed. Pontificia Univ. Gregoriana, 2002).