Kenyan court suspends planned US-linked Ebola facility

The High Court in Nairobi has issued conservatory orders suspending the planned establishment of a US-linked Ebola quarantine centre in Laikipia County, reports the Kenyans. The orders follow an urgent petition filed by the Katiba Institute before the Milimani Law Courts, seeking to halt the implementation of the facility pending the determination of the case. Justice Patricia Nyaundi barred the government from facilitating, approving or permitting the setting up of any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment centre by the US Government or any foreign agency. Nyaundi specifically restrained the respondents, their agents and officers from admitting into Kenya, transferring, receiving or facilitating the entry of persons exposed to or infected with Ebola under the reported arrangement with the US. The lobby group argued that the planned facility poses an imminent threat to life and public safety if allowed to proceed before the matter is fully heard and determined. An earlier report in the Kenyans stated that Kenya had approved the quarantine plan after America committing Ksh1.7bn ($13 138.57) to support the country’s Ebola preparedness efforts. The latest development came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call with Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday to discuss the ongoing Ebola outbreak and co-ordination efforts between Kenya and the US.

Second report on the Kenyans site

First report on the Kenyans site

Meanwhile, the head of the WHO has called for a ceasefire in eastern DRC in order to contain the Ebola outbreak, saying that ongoing fighting was driving mass displacement and spreading the disease in overcrowded camps, reports Polity. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by WHO this month and cases are rising sharply. ‘Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response,’ said WHO DG Tedros Adhanom ​Ghebreyesus, who is due to travel to the region this week. 'We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling. We urge all warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to contain this outbreak,’ he said on X. Over 900 suspected cases and over 200 suspected deaths have so far been reported in three provinces in eastern Congo including the North Kivu province, held by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, and South Kivu province, controlled by rebel group the Alliance Fleuve Congo. Aid group Save the Children said on Wednesday a quarter of the confirmed deaths were children, calling for a scale-up in infection prevention measures Fighting has continued in eastern Congo despite mediation efforts led by the U and others, and millions of people are displaced. The UN refugee agency said transit and reception sites in Uganda's West Nile region which borders Congo are at more than double capacity, a document showed.

Full Polity report