Construction of US Ebola facility in Kenya halted

Kenya’s Health Minister told a court he had ordered preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility to stop, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous order to end work, reports The Guardian. Many Kenyans strongly oppose the facility, with deadly protests erupting since the complex was announced in May for US citizens evacuated from the DRC, which is grappling with a widespread Ebola outbreak. There have been more than 1 000 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC and more than 250 deaths as of 20 June. Neighbouring Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. The US facility was being constructed at Laikipia air base in Nanyuki, about 200km from the capital, Nairobi, with about 50 isolation beds. It was expected to be managed by US medical staff. Rights groups had petitioned the court, saying the facility was being developed secretly and without consultation. Last month, the High Court ordered a stop to the centre’s construction until the groups’ case was heard. After the government continued to press ahead, the court said it was holding the Health Minister, Aden Duale, in contempt of the order, and that he would appear for sentencing. A day later, Duale apologised to the court, saying he had ordered ‘the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction, site preparation, or related activities concerning the Laikipia airbase facility pending the hearing and determination of the substantive petition or until further orders of this court’. The judge, Patricia Nyaundi Mande, discharged Duale with a warning against further disobeying the court’s orders.