Kenya’s Health Minister, Aden Duale, has informed the court that he has ordered the immediate cessation of all preparatory activities for a US-run Ebola isolation facility, after being found in contempt for defying a previous work suspension order.
Many Kenyans have strongly opposed the plan, and deadly protests have erupted since the facility was announced in May. The facility is intended to isolate US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is facing a major Ebola outbreak.
The facility was being built at the Laikipia Air Base, about 200 km from the capital Nairobi, with roughly 50 isolation beds and was set to be managed by US health personnel.
The Kenyan government had earlier ignored a High Court order to halt work. Human rights groups petitioned the court, arguing that the facility was being developed in secret without community consultation. On Monday, the court found Health Minister Aden Duale in contempt of court for failing to comply with the order and scheduled his sentencing.
On Tuesday, Duale apologized to the court, stating that he had ordered an “immediate and complete cessation of all construction, site preparation, or any activities related to the facility at Laikipia Air Base, pending the court’s ruling on the main petition or until further orders.”
Three people have been killed in riots near the facility.
Kenya has never recorded an Ebola case, and many Kenyans object to bringing people who may carry a highly infectious disease into the country. The US has pledged $13.5 million to support Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts, but critics oppose what they see as the colonial undertones of the deal.
