High Court blocks US plan to build Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya
The High Court has temporarily stopped the government from establishing or facilitating any Ebola quarantine, isolation or treatment facility under an arrangement with the United States, hours after Washington announced plans to commit $13.5 million (Sh1.75 billion) to Kenya’s Ebola preparedness.
The court also stopped the admission, transfer or receipt into Kenya of persons exposed to or infected with Ebola under the disputed diplomatic arrangement.
The interim orders came after civil rights group Katiba Institute sued the State over Kenya’s decision to establish a quarantine facility at Laikipia Airbase to Americans exposed to Ebola.
Katiba argued that the arrangement was negotiated without public participation, parliamentary oversight or disclosure of its terms to public.
American public health officials are already in Kenya for establishment of the facility to host US citizens exposed to the deadly disease in the region.
The court orders came hours after Washington publicly confirmed high-level discussions between President William Ruto and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Ebola preparedness, funding and coordination between the two countries.
In a statement attributed to Department of State spokesperson Tommy Pigott, the US said Mr Rubio and President Ruto discussed efforts to strengthen Kenya’s health system, secure critical medical supplies and coordinate responses to the worsening Ebola outbreak in the region.
“The United States Government intends to commit $13.5 million (Sh1.7 billion) toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts and has already committed to providing $112 million (Sh14.4 billion) in bilateral assistance to the regional response,” the statement said.
It added that the United States’ “highest priority remains protecting the health and security of the American people by working to prevent the Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores.”
But even as the two governments projected cooperation, the High Court in Nairobi issued conservatory orders barring the State from establishing, operationalising, approving or facilitating any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya pending an inter-partes hearing.
The orders followed a petition filed by Katiba Institute, which argued that the arrangement raised serious public health, governance and sovereignty concerns.
“Public interest favours granting interim orders,” the court ruled while certifying the case as urgent.
The petition names the Attorney-General and Health Cabinet Secretary as respondents and seeks to block what it describes as efforts to convert Kenya into “an offshore quarantine centre for foreign states.”
The dispute emerged after international media reports revealed that Washington had secured Kenya’s approval to establish a 50-bed Ebola quarantine facility at a military air base in Laikipia County.
It was reported that the facility would be staffed by members of the US Public Health Service and used to isolate Americans exposed to Ebola during the ongoing outbreak centred in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenya’s Health Ministry has publicly acknowledged discussions with the United States and other international partners on Ebola preparedness but has not formally confirmed details of the quarantine facility.
Health authorities say Kenya has not recorded any confirmed Ebola case despite heightened regional risks linked to outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The Ministry of Health has intensified border screening, laboratory surveillance and emergency preparedness measures amid warnings from the World Health Organisation about cross-border transmission risks.
Katiba Institute argues that Kenya lacks the specialised infrastructure required to safely manage Ebola patients.
In court papers, the lobby claims Ebola containment requires Biosafety Level Four laboratories while Kenya currently operates only Biosafety Level One to Three facilities, with just three BSL-3 laboratories available nationwide.
“Therefore, what if there is an outbreak of Ebola? Can we manage to contain it?” the petition asks.
The organisation also accuses the government of withholding critical information from the public, including the terms of any agreement, environmental assessments, biosafety studies and treatment protocols.
It argues that any bilateral arrangement involving public health, national security and the rights of citizens should undergo parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitution and the Treaty Making and Ratification Act.
The court directed Katiba Institute to serve the respondents with the petition within 24 hours and ordered the respondents to file their responses within 48 hours of service.
The matter will be mentioned on June 2 for further directions.
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