Kenya's High Court has ruled that the government must disclose details about a proposed US-linked Ebola isolation facility, a day after hundreds protested the planned site in the central town of Nanyuki.
According to Reuters, two people died from gunshot wounds during Monday's unrest, citing protest organizer Patrick Wahome and a security source.
The court extended a temporary conservatory order, blocking the establishment of any Ebola isolation, quarantine, or treatment facility in Kenya, and barred the admission of individuals at risk of virus exposure. It also ordered the Health Minister to publicly release agreement details, medical and biosafety assessments, regulatory approvals, and operational procedures.
Earlier on Friday, the High Court had directed the government to temporarily suspend the plans after a lawsuit argued the site posed a public health risk.
Senior US officials said the 50-bed facility at the Laikipia airbase would serve Americans exposed to the virus but asymptomatic. The Kenyan government pledged to proceed with the facility, with Health Minister Aden Duale stating Saturday it was part of broader efforts to bolster emergency response systems. However, critics argue Kenya's health infrastructure is too weak to handle potential risks.
Al Jazeera's Catherine Wambua-Soi, reporting from Nairobi, said at Tuesday's hearing, the lead petitioner, rights group Katiba Institute, affirmed the plan posed serious health risks. “The lead petitioner, Katiba Institute, came to court to stop this facility, saying the agreement between the US and Kenya is not transparent at all,” she said, adding that the Law Society of Kenya and the main doctors' union also opposed the plan in court. “All said no to the facility. So the judge ordered the government to present all papers related to the agreement.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are grappling with a rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain in an outbreak that has killed 48 people and was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO. The epidemic is outpacing a global response that started slowly.
Kenyan President William Ruto defended the facility, saying it was part of broader national preparedness plans and a long-standing health partnership with Washington. In his first remarks on the facility, Ruto said it was no different from others already established in Kenya. “The facility at the Laikipia Airbase is not a different facility from all the other facilities we have across Kenya,” he told reporters in northern Kenya Monday evening, urging citizens not to doubt the government's preparations. He said he approved the facility after US President Donald Trump requested Kenya's assistance, citing decades of cooperation with Washington on health programs including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. The president added that Kenya has prepared isolation, surveillance, and treatment facilities in 23 counties, and this facility would serve Kenyans as well as foreign partners, including Americans, if needed.
