Kenya Court Halts Plan for U.S. Ebola Isolation Facility
Caolán Magee | Al Jazeera English
A Kenyan court has temporarily suspended a plan to establish an Ebola isolation center for American citizens, following strong backlash from health workers and human rights activists. The agreement, made between the U.S. and Kenya, was intended to isolate and monitor at-risk Americans rather than repatriate them, but critics argue it poses serious public health and constitutional concerns.
A Kenyan court has temporarily halted plans to set up an Ebola isolation facility for U.S. citizens at risk of exposure to the virus, after strong opposition from health workers and human rights activists.
High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi on Friday (May 29) issued a stay order on the agreement for the facility, pending a ruling in a case filed by activists. The case is expected to be heard next week.
The deal comes amid fears the outbreak could spread beyond Central Africa. The current outbreak is centered in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has spread to Uganda, killing more than 200 people.
As countries seek to prevent international spread, the United States reached an agreement to isolate and monitor its at-risk citizens in Kenya rather than repatriating them for treatment.
Katiba Institute, a Kenyan rights group, said in its petition that the facility was established secretly and unilaterally, raising serious constitutional concerns. The petition warned of grave and imminent risks to public health, arguing that bringing people at risk of Ebola into Kenya, which has not recorded any cases, could increase the risk of local transmission.
National Biosecurity
When the case was filed, it was unclear where the facility would be located or whether the Kenyan government had formally approved the plan. Nairobi had publicly acknowledged discussions with Washington on Ebola preparedness support but had not directly addressed reports of the isolation center.
“The secret, unilateral establishment of an Ebola isolation facility raises serious constitutional concerns regarding the right to life, the right to health care, fair administrative action, public participation, and parliamentary oversight,” Katiba Institute said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington intended to commit $13.5 million to Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts, but he did not publicly confirm details of the proposed isolation agreement. U.S. officials later said a 50-bed isolation facility, intended for U.S. citizens arriving from the DRC, would open on Friday. The facility is run by U.S. medical staff at Laikipia Air Base, about 200 km from the capital Nairobi.
Kenya's doctors' union on Thursday issued a 48-hour strike warning if the government proceeded with the deal, accusing authorities of endangering public health. The union said the U.S. appeared unwilling to allow those at risk of Ebola onto its own soil and warned Kenya should not become a “dumping ground.”
“As the frontline of Kenya's healthcare system, we are outraged at what appears to be the government's willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its people for foreign aid,” said union Secretary-General Davji Atellah.
The Law Society of Kenya also warned that the country lacks the necessary safe isolation infrastructure to manage such a facility, potentially exposing the public to severe health risks.
‘Catastrophic Collision’
The dispute comes as health authorities race to contain an outbreak of the Ebola Bundibugyo strain in northeastern DRC, where overwhelmed health workers, limited medical supplies, conflict, and displacement are hampering containment efforts.
Unlike some other Ebola strains, Bundibugyo has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province in northeastern DRC, accounting for more than 90% of reported cases, with smaller numbers detected in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
The region has been a focal point of conflict for decades as armed groups vie for control of vast mineral resources. Mass displacement and the collapse of state services are complicating containment efforts. “Eastern DRC is now facing a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict,” Tedros wrote on social media on Wednesday.
The DRC government has confirmed more than 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths since declaring the outbreak on May 15. The WHO believes the true scale may be much larger, warning the virus spread unnoticed for weeks before being detected by authorities. Uganda has confirmed seven cases and one death linked to the outbreak.
U.S. President Donald Trump has previously criticized previous administrations for repatriating infected American citizens. Earlier this month, a doctor working in the DRC who tested positive for Ebola was sent to Germany for treatment, while a missionary was evacuated to the Czech Republic.
Washington's refusal to repatriate U.S. citizens for treatment but instead sending them to third countries, where care quality may be questioned, has also drawn criticism from American doctors, one of whom called it a moral abandonment of the country's own citizens.
Concern is also rising in Europe. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday called on European Union leaders to increase vigilance and border coordination to prevent the virus from reaching the continent.
