A Kenyan High Court has issued an interim order blocking the United States from launching a dedicated Ebola quarantine and treatment facility for American citizens on Kenyan soil, a decision that comes after widespread public anger over fears of heightened cross-border infection risks to the East African nation.
According to a senior unnamed U.S. official, the 50-bed isolation center — whose exact location has never been made public — was set to be staffed entirely by U.S. medical personnel and scheduled to begin accepting patients as early as Friday. The facility was designed to treat and quarantine U.S. citizens who may have been exposed to the ongoing Ebola outbreak centered in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which has also recorded a small number of cases in neighboring Uganda. The official confirmed that an initial team of trained medical staff, fully prepared in proper personal protective equipment use and evidence-based quarantine protocols, had already deployed ahead of the facility’s launch.
“We’re going to be ready to take care of our citizens as needed,” the official said, noting that Kenya was chosen for its geographic proximity to the outbreak zone, which would allow for timely medical care for exposed Americans.
The legal challenge that led to the court ruling was brought by the Katiba Institute, a Kenyan human rights organization, which argued in its petition that the unregulated arrangement posed “grave and imminent risks” to Kenya’s public health. Justice Patricia Nyaundi, the presiding High Court judge, ruled that all activities related to establishing, operating or approving any Ebola quarantine, isolation or treatment facility run by a foreign government on Kenyan territory would be suspended until the full case can be heard. The order also bars Kenyan authorities from allowing any Ebola-exposed or infected individuals into the country under the proposed U.S. program.
As of Friday, Kenya — East Africa’s largest economy — had not recorded any confirmed Ebola cases linked to the current outbreak. Congolese health authorities report the outbreak has already caused at least 220 deaths and more than 900 confirmed infections, while Uganda has recorded seven cases and one death.
The court’s decision follows days of growing public outcry and fierce criticism from domestic medical groups, after reports of the U.S. plan emerged. Many Kenyans took to social media to express anxiety, questioning whether the country had sufficient biosecurity and containment infrastructure to safely manage potential Ebola cases. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Kenya’s largest doctors’ union, has emerged as the most vocal opponent of the plan, accusing the Kenyan government of conducting secret “backdoor negotiations” with Washington and demanding the immediate public release of all bilateral agreements related to the proposal.
The union has questioned why Kenya, which is not at the epicenter of the outbreak, was selected to host the facility, and has condemned the plan as a violation of Kenya’s national sovereignty. Echoing widespread claims that Washington refused to accept Ebola patients on U.S. soil, the union stated: “If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya.” KMPDU Secretary General Davji Bhimji Atellah said the union “will not sit back and watch Kenya be treated as a containment colony for a lethal pathogen that we did not generate.”
The union also raised strong objections to plans to staff the facility exclusively with U.S. personnel rather than local Kenyan healthcare workers, warning that it would create a discriminatory “apartheid healthcare model” on Kenyan soil that would not be tolerated. The union issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Kenyan government, demanding full disclosure of all negotiation details or face a nationwide strike by medical professionals. “Kenya is a sovereign republic, not a geopolitical isolation ward,” the union added.
Kenyan President William Ruto has not directly addressed the controversy over the U.S. facility, but he addressed broader global health cooperation during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Nairobi on Thursday. “We agreed on the importance of cooperation and avoiding isolationism, recognising that public health threats do not respect borders and require coordinated regional and global action,” Ruto said, adding that “Kenya will continue to act transparently, responsibly, and decisively to protect lives while contributing to regional and global health security.”
Shortly after Ruto’s meeting, a spokesperson for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Rubio had spoken with Ruto by phone on Thursday. The spokesperson added that the U.S. plans to provide $13.5 million (£10.7 million) in aid to support Kenya’s domestic Ebola preparedness efforts, part of a larger $112 million U.S. commitment to regional outbreak response across Central and East Africa. The Kenyan government has not yet issued any direct official comment on the proposed facility itself.