https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / All News RSS ← Back
Nanyuki|Czech Republic|Democratic Republic Of Congo|Germany|Kenya|Uganda|United States|Pandemic Preparedness|Public Health|Ebola|US Department Of Health And Human Services|US Public Health Service|US State Department|Donald Trump|William Ruto
|||||
nanyuki|czech-republic|democratic-republic-of-congo|germany|kenya|uganda|united-states|pandemic-preparedness|public-health|ebola|us-department-of-health-and-human-services|us-public-health-service|us-state-department|donald-trump|william-ruto
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Protests over US Ebola site in Kenya kill two, court keeps block


Close

Protests over US Ebola site in Kenya kill two, court keeps block

Should you have feedback on this article, please complete the fields below.

Please indicate if your feedback is in the form of a letter to the editor that you wish to have published. If so, please be aware that we require that you keep your feedback to below 300 words and we will consider its publication online or in Creamer Media’s print publications, at Creamer Media’s discretion.

We also welcome factual corrections and tip-offs and will protect the identity of our sources, please indicate if this is your wish in your feedback below.


Close

Embed Video

Protests over US Ebola site in Kenya kill two, court keeps block

Ebola protests Kenya
Photo by Reuters

2nd June 2026

By: Reuters

SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

A Kenyan court blocked on Tuesday for another three weeks a proposed US Ebola quarantine facility that has triggered protests killing two people and ordered the government to disclose its agreement with Washington.

The proposed 50-bed unit on an air force base in central Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus in Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda has angered many Kenyans. They accuse the US of offloading the health risk of caring for patients.

Advertisement

A Kenyan court last week temporarily suspended the plan in response to a lawsuit from a legal advocacy group. However, US military aircraft have continued to fly in staff and equipment in recent days, according to a US official and diplomatic sources.

Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi on Tuesday issued an order barring the Kenyan government from taking any steps to build or begin operations at the facility in the town of Nanyuki before the case is resolved.

Advertisement

The judge also ordered the government to disclose all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility within seven days and scheduled the next hearing for June 23. 

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Hundreds protested against the plan in Nanyuki on Monday. Protest organiser Patrick Wahome said two people were killed by gunshot wounds after police opened fire. A security source also said two people had died but did not specify cause of death. 

Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the deaths. 

KENYAN PRESIDENT RUTO DEFENDS US AGREEMENT 

On Monday, Kenya President William Ruto said the facility was part of a wider national preparedness plan and long-running health partnership with Washington.

Ruto said it would serve Kenyans and foreign nationals too, though US officials have not confirmed this. 

"We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing," Ruto said. 

Kenyan courts are known for their independence, especially by regional standards, although activists often accuse the government of ignoring or circumventing orders. 

The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is centred in eastern Congo and several cases have spilled over into neighbouring Uganda.

There have been more than 900 suspected cases, including over 220 suspected deaths from the disease. 

Experts say the outbreak, declared on May 15, is likely significantly larger and more advanced than official figures suggest after circulating undetected for many weeks. 

President Donald Trump's administration has said it "cannot and will not allow" any cases to enter the US, unlike during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa when several infected US ​nationals were treated on US soil.

A US citizen who contracted Ebola while treating patients in the DRC as a medical missionary was moved to Germany last month for treatment along with five others who were exposed. 

A seventh person was taken to the Czech Republic.

The facility in Nanyuki would be staffed by members of the ‌US ⁠Public Health Service, a uniformed branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.

It is meant to receive Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care in other countries, US officials have said.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      FEEDBACK

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here


About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Email Registration Success

Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to one or more of Creamer Media’s email newsletters. You should start receiving the email newsletters in due course.

Our email newsletters may land in your junk or spam folder. To prevent this, kindly add newsletters@creamermedia.co.za to your address book or safe sender list. If you experience any issues with the receipt of our email newsletters, please email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za