A Kenyan court has temporarily blocked a controversial US proposal to establish an Ebola quarantine facility in the country, following widespread opposition from medical professionals and civil society groups.
The High Court in Nairobi on Friday suspended any agreement on the facility until petitions against it can be heard next Tuesday.
The plan, revealed by an anonymous U.S. administration official on Wednesday, aimed to divert Americans exposed to a rare Ebola strain abroad to a new Kenyan site rather than repatriating them. Its location and the Kenyan government's official endorsement remained unclear.
While Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a $13.5 million commitment to Kenya's Ebola preparedness, Nairobi acknowledged only discussions about support, not the specific quarantine center.
Legal challenges quickly emerged from the Katiba Institute and the Kenya Law Society, both opposing the establishment of any Ebola-related facilities.
The Kenya Law Society urged the court to nullify any US-Kenya agreements, citing public health risks, a lack of public participation, and Kenya's insufficient "high-containment infrastructure required to safely manage such a facility."
Adding to the pressure, a Kenyan doctors' union issued a 48-hour strike notice, accusing the U.S. of avoiding Ebola on its own soil and turning Kenya into a "dumping ground."
Davji Atellah, the union’s chairperson, stated, "As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid."
This dispute unfolds amid an ongoing outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola without approved treatment or vaccine, in northeastern Congo.
Since May 15, the Congolese government has confirmed over 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths; however, the World Health Organization suspects the true scale is much larger due to weeks of undetected spread. The virus has also crossed into neighboring Uganda, which has reported seven cases and one fatality.
