U.S. authorities have quietly begun using an Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya to house American workers despite a Kenyan court order banning the operation, according to activists and humanitarian organizations working on the ground.
The facility at Laikipia Air Base, located about 115 miles north of Nairobi, has been placed in a precarious legal situation since a Kenyan court issued an order last month barring its operationalization and requiring the suspension of construction. Nevertheless, seven American staff members from the Samaritan’s Purse humanitarian organization have been undergoing a 21-day quarantine at the facility after returning from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Samaritan’s Purse announced over the weekend that the seven staff members had been placed in quarantine in “large military tents” in a fenced gravel compound at the facility. According to Franklin Graham, the organization’s president and chief executive officer, the workers are sleeping on military cots and receiving meals provided by the U.S. military. None of the quarantined workers have shown any symptoms of Ebola, though they had potential exposure while working on the front lines of the Ebola response in Congo.
The existence of operations at the facility contradicts the June court order that barred Kenya from establishing or operating any Ebola-related facility under agreements with the United States or other foreign governments, and from admitting anyone exposed to or infected with the virus until legal challenges are resolved. Health Minister Aden Duale subsequently ordered the suspension of construction activities.
Kenyan activists from groups including the Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya have expressed alarm at reports that the facility is now functioning despite the court ban. Nora Mbagathi, chief of the Katiba Institute, stated that activists are concerned about Americans already being quarantined in Kenya and warned that any government officials involved would have “completely betrayed the public trust and must be held personally accountable.” The Law Society of Kenya issued a statement saying that a deliberate violation of a court order would constitute “impunity and lawlessness.”
The situation reflects deep-seated concerns among Kenyans about the facility’s presence in the country. The planned quarantine center sparked violent protests in early June, with hundreds of residents marching through the nearby town of Nanyuki to oppose the project. Two people died when demonstrations turned violent as residents protested over fears that the facility could expose local communities to Ebola. The unrest underscored significant public opposition to hosting the facility.
The center was designed to quarantine Americans who might be exposed to the Ebola virus while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major outbreak has claimed considerable lives. The Ebola outbreak, which began two months ago, has resulted in at least 930 confirmed deaths out of 2,344 cases reported as of mid-July. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for this outbreak differs from the Zaire strain, complicating treatment efforts since existing Ebola therapies were developed for a different viral species.
Samaritan’s Purse operates two treatment centers in Congo at Bunia and Nyankunde and has been among the largest foreign aid organizations responding to the outbreak. The organization’s seven quarantined staff members were part of its 72-member Disaster Assistance Response Team deployed to the region.
Kenya, located hundreds of miles east of Congo with Uganda between the two countries, has reported no confirmed cases of Ebola. However, the United States has pledged 13.5 million dollars toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts as part of what U.S. and Kenyan officials describe as a long-standing partnership. Kenyan President William Ruto defended the facility, characterizing it as part of a partnership with the United States and noting plans to establish 24 additional Ebola preparedness centers across the country with U.S. funding.
Despite the facility’s current operation, both Kenya’s Ministry of Health and the U.S. State Department have declined to respond to requests for comment about whether Americans are being quarantined there. The Laikipia Air Base also did not respond to inquiries. Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham similarly did not address questions about why the quarantine center was operating in Kenya despite the court order.
The court case challenging the facility was initiated by the Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya, which argued that establishing a quarantine center for Americans from Congo risked overwhelming Kenya’s health system in the event of an Ebola outbreak. The petitioners cited concerns about public exposure risks and the absence of consultation with Kenyan citizens.
The facility represents a point of tension between U.S. security concerns about Ebola containment and Kenyan public health worries about exposing the country to a deadly pathogen. As the outbreak in Congo continues spreading and the humanitarian response deepens, the legal and political dispute over the Kenya facility remains unresolved, even as American workers are being quarantined there.