US Ebola Quarantine Plan in Kenya Hits Legal Wall

Kenya's plan to host a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base has been blocked by a court decision.

Street protests and a contempt ruling against the health minister added to the pressure, all of this unfolding within weeks of the facility's announcement in May.

The United States has declined to repatriate its own Ebola-exposed citizens for treatment at home, instead seeking to quarantine them 200 kilometers from Nairobi, in a country that has not recorded a single Ebola case.

The Contempt Ruling and the Minister's Reversal

Health Minister Aden Duale appeared before Justice Patricia Nyaundi Mande after the court found him in contempt for pressing ahead with construction despite a suspension order issued last month.

Duale apologized and told the court he had ordered "the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction, site preparation, or related activities concerning the Laikipia airbase facility."

The judge discharged him with a warning.

The facility, a tented structure with approximately 50 isolation beds at Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki, roughly 200 kilometers from Nairobi, had been intended to host Americans exposed to Ebola during an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Construction Continued Despite Court Orders

The halt announcement came only after satellite imagery from Monday, reviewed by Reuters, showed continued construction activity, including a buildup of tents, newly paved areas, and container-like structures.

Specialist staff and medical equipment had continued to arrive at the airbase by plane even after the court's suspension order, Reuters reported, citing U.S. officials and diplomatic sources.

A U.S. official told Reuters last week that planes were still landing with supplies while staff were being trained on site.

3 Dead, Protests Ongoing

Three people have been killed in protests against the facility.

Rights groups petitioned the court in May, arguing the facility was being developed secretly and without public consultation.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union told: "If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya".

President William Ruto, however, defended the arrangement earlier this month, saying Kenya was doing "the right thing."

The U.S. has pledged $13.5 million to support Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts related to the facility.

The Outbreak Behind the Dispute

The DRC Ebola outbreak, declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May, had recorded over 1,000 confirmed cases and more than 250 deaths as of June 20.

Neighboring Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases and 2 deaths.

The current strain is the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Modeling by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests this outbreak could become the largest on record, surpassing the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, which infected more than 28,000 people and killed over 11,000.

During that earlier crisis, the U.S. repatriated its own citizens for treatment at home.

This time, Washington chose a different course, and Kenya is now bearing the consequences of that decision in its courts and streets.