Kenya Halts Construction of U.S.-Backed Ebola Treatment Center

Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said on Tuesday he has halted construction of a U.S.-backed Ebola treatment center at the Laikipia Air Base.

Kenya’s High Court held Duale in contempt on Monday for disobeying its orders in May and early June to stop construction on the facility.

“The Court ​cannot permit ​its orders to ⁠be rendered hollow,” Kenyan High Court Justice Patricia Nyaundi Mande said on Monday as she ordered Duale to appear the following day.

Duale duly stood before the court on Tuesday and said he ordered an immediate halt to construction, although he still defended the Ebola center as safe and necessary. Justice Mande warned him not to disobey further court orders and dismissed him without punitive action.

The Ebola facility, located near the town of Nanyuki, was envisioned as a 50-bed quarantine camp that would be constructed and staffed by the U.S., primarily for treating Americans who contract Ebola after visiting the outbreak zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

Kenyan President William Ruto swiftly approved the project, citing Kenya’s longstanding partnership with the United States and promising that Kenyans would be at no risk from the Ebola facility.

“When President Trump asked the government of Kenya to support them by having a center at Laikipia Air Base, I gave the OK because it was an agreement and a partnership with friends who have worked with Kenya for 30-40 years,” Ruto said in early June.

Many Kenyans were unconvinced by their president’s arguments, fearing the quarantine facility might not be safe, and taking umbrage at the idea of the U.S. using Kenya as a “dumping ground” for Ebola cases. Local groups filed suit against the project, claiming it posed “grave and imminent risks” to public health. Demonstrations against the Ebola facility grew increasingly large and violent, until several protesters were shot dead by police.

In late May, the Kenyan High Court ordered a halt to construction, and to the operation of any Ebola facility by any foreign government, until court challenges could be heard. The court also barred Kenyan officials from admitting anyone with Ebola into the country for treatment at foreign-operated clinics.

Reuters noted on Tuesday that “flights carrying medical ⁠equipment and specialist staff have continued to arrive at the air base despite the court ​orders,” and U.S. officials have said staffers continue to receive training on-site.

Satellite photos showed substantial progress on construction has been made, including “a build-up of ​tents, an increase in the amount of area paved, and progress in ‌construction ⁠including structures that appeared to be containers.”