Africa-Press – Kenya. The Kenyan Supreme Court suspended an agreement made by the government with the United States to establish a quarantine center at the Laikipia military airbase, located about 200 kilometers north of Nairobi, to receive American citizens exposed to the Ebola virus coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The decision by Judge Patricia Nyaundi to suspend the agreement was made last Friday in response to a legal challenge presented by a local rights institute focused on defending the Kenyan constitution, with the case set to be reviewed next week.
A report from a local source revealed that Washington planned to operate a facility with 50 isolation beds, managed by American medical staff within the military base, and that the facility was scheduled to open on the same Friday the court issued its ruling.
However, the Kenyan government has not publicly acknowledged this agreement, only referring to “ongoing discussions with Washington regarding support for Ebola preparedness efforts,” while the American Secretary of State announced that the U.S. would commit $13.5 million to support Kenya’s health readiness, without confirming the details related to the quarantine arrangement.
The local rights institute criticized what it described as the “secret unilateral establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility,” noting that it raises serious constitutional concerns affecting the rights to life, health, public participation, and parliamentary oversight.
Waste Dump
The Kenyan Medical Association quickly issued a warning of a 48-hour strike, expressing its “disgust” at what it termed the government’s willingness to trade national security and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid, warning that Kenya would become a “dumping ground” for diseases.
The Kenyan Bar Association also warned that the country lacks the “high containment infrastructure necessary to safely manage such facilities,” which could expose public health to serious risks.
This agreement comes amid an outbreak of the Ebola virus of the Bundibugyo strain in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, announced by the Congolese government on May 15, which has recorded over a thousand suspected cases and nearly 220 deaths to date.
The World Health Organization reported that the Ituri region in northeastern Congo accounts for over 90% of the cases, while Uganda confirmed seven cases and one death linked to the outbreak. The organization’s director warned that “eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a catastrophic collision between disease and armed conflict.”
Currently, there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for this Bundibugyo strain.
The administration of former President Donald Trump chose not to receive Americans exposed to the virus on its territory, reflecting a stance previously announced by Trump during past outbreaks when he criticized the repatriation of patients to the United States. Instead, Washington directed some infected citizens to European countries, with an American doctor working in the Democratic Republic of Congo being transferred to Germany for treatment, while another American missionary was taken to the Czech Republic.
American doctors criticized this approach, with one describing it as “an ethical abandonment of what this country owes its citizens,” according to a local source.
In Europe, the Italian Prime Minister urged European Union leaders to enhance border vigilance and coordinate efforts to prevent the virus from reaching the continent.
