A Kenyan High Court judge on Friday issued a conservatory order blocking the establishment of a US-managed Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base, hours before the centre was scheduled to open, following a petition from a constitutional rights group.
High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi ordered the government to halt any plans to establish, operate or facilitate the entry of Ebola-exposed individuals into Kenya under the contested arrangement, pending a full hearing scheduled for next week. The Kenya government has 48 hours to respond to the petition.
The facility, a 50-bed isolation unit to be staffed by members of the United States Public Health Service, was intended to quarantine American nationals arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where an ongoing Ebola outbreak centred in the country’s east has crossed into Uganda and killed more than 200 people. US officials said the centre was designed to allow Americans to quickly leave the DRC and quarantine closer to the region without the risks of a lengthy return flight to the United States. Laikipia Air Base is approximately 200 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi.
Katiba Institute, the constitutional rights organisation behind the petition, argued the facility was being established without public participation, parliamentary oversight or public disclosure of its terms, saying the arrangement “raises grave constitutional concerns.”
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) had already condemned the plan before the court order, accusing the government of trading “the lives of its citizens for foreign aid.” The union issued a 48-hour strike alert on Thursday should the government proceed, warning Kenya should not become a destination for Ebola-exposed individuals that the United States was unwilling to receive on its own soil.
The dispute emerged into public view after international media reported that Washington had secured Kenya’s agreement to host the facility at the military base in Laikipia County. Kenya’s Health Ministry acknowledged discussions with the United States on Ebola preparedness but did not publicly confirm the facility’s details. Kenya has not recorded any confirmed Ebola case from the current outbreak, though health authorities have intensified border screening and laboratory surveillance.
The deal is rooted in a broader bilateral health agreement Kenya signed with the United States in December 2025, which is separately being challenged in court. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced a $13.5 million commitment toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts during high-level discussions with President William Ruto.
The case is the latest test of how African nations navigate health security arrangements with wealthier partners during active disease outbreaks on the continent.
