Africa-Press – Kenya. The Kenyan government announced the suspension of the construction of a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine center at the Laikipia Air Base in the central region of the country, following escalating political and legal controversies surrounding the project that sparked widespread protests in recent weeks.
The Kenyan health minister, Aden Duale, stated that he issued instructions to halt construction immediately after appearing before the Supreme Court, which found him in contempt of court for failing to comply with previous orders to suspend the project pending the resolution of lawsuits against it. The minister also apologized to the court, affirming that the non-compliance with court orders was not intentional.
Despite repeated court orders to freeze the project, satellite images and flight tracking data showed that equipment and American experts continued to arrive at the air base in recent weeks, provoking sharp criticism from civil society organizations and opposition parties. The project ignited a wave of protests in Nanyuki and other areas, where demonstrators expressed concerns that Kenya could become a hub for receiving individuals at risk of contracting Ebola instead of treating them within the United States.
In defense of the project, the Kenyan president, William Ruto, argued that it is “part of a broader national strategy” to enhance health preparedness and combat epidemics, emphasizing that health cooperation between Kenya and the United States has a long history.
It is noted that the controversy began in May 2026 after the Kenyan government approved a U.S. request to establish a quarantine facility near the Laikipia Air Base to accommodate Americans exposed to the virus in eastern Congo.
The Supreme Court issued successive orders to suspend the project, while public protests continued due to health and sovereignty concerns. This comes at a time when the Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing the largest Ebola outbreak in Africa in terms of the number of cases during the first month of the epidemic, according to the World Health Organization.
