Kenya halts work on planned US-run Ebola quarantine site
Health Minister Aden Duale told a court that preparations at Laikipia airbase have stopped after legal challenges and protests over the plan.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Kenya has stopped preparations for a planned United States-run Ebola quarantine facility after a court fight over the project, Health Minister Aden Duale told a court on Tuesday. The case matters because the proposal has triggered fierce public opposition in a country that has reported no Ebola cases while nearby outbreaks have spread.
According to Al Jazeera and AFP, the facility was planned for Laikipia airbase, about 200 kilometres from Nairobi, and was to include about 50 isolation beds. The site was expected to be operated by US medical personnel and used for potential US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where health authorities are dealing with a major Ebola outbreak.
Duale told the court he had ordered a full stop to construction, site preparation and related work at the airbase until the main petition is heard or the court issues further orders. His statement came one day after the court found him in contempt for failing to comply with earlier orders issued in late May and early June to stop activity at the site, Al Jazeera and AFP reported.
Rights groups brought the petition against the project, saying it had been advanced without public consultation and in secrecy, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. Kenyan doctors and other medical workers have also opposed the proposed facility in Nanyuki, arguing it could strain a health system they already view as fragile.
Public anger has extended beyond the courtroom. Al Jazeera and AFP reported that protests have taken place since Kenya’s government confirmed plans for the facility, and that three people have been killed in unrest near the Laikipia site.
Some civilians and health workers have objected to the prospect of bringing Ebola-related cases into Kenya, Al Jazeera and AFP reported. Critics have also attacked Kenya’s acceptance of a $13.5m Ebola preparedness contribution from the United States, describing it as an attempt to make the broader arrangement more acceptable.
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo was confirmed in May, according to the report. The DRC Health Ministry said that as of June 22, the country had recorded 1,048 confirmed cases and at least 267 deaths. At least 75 health workers in DRC have contracted the virus, and 17 deaths among health workers have been recorded, according to Al Jazeera and AFP.
Uganda, which borders Kenya, has also reported Ebola cases. According to Uganda’s Ebola reporting platform cited by Al Jazeera and AFP, the country has confirmed 20 cases, including two deaths.
Kenya has not recorded an Ebola case so far, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. The court process will determine whether the Laikipia plan can proceed, while Duale’s latest statement leaves the project paused under judicial scrutiny.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.