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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Health & Science

Kenya court suspends opening of US Ebola quarantine centre

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency In the courts
  • A Kenyan court has issued a temporary order halting the opening of an Ebola quarantine center for U.S. nationals.
  • The facility, intended to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was set to open at Laikipia Air Base.
  • A rights group and medical practitioners have challenged the agreement between Kenya and the U.S., citing constitutional concerns and potential risks to Kenyan citizens.

A Kenyan court has temporarily blocked the planned opening of an Ebola quarantine center for U.S. nationals, responding to a petition filed by a local rights group.

The facility was slated to open on Friday at Laikipia Air Base, approximately 200 kilometers from Nairobi. It was intended to house Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a region currently grappling with a significant Ebola outbreak. The center was designed with 50 isolation beds and was to be managed by U.S. medical staff.

A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from establishing… any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya.

— Court OrderThe official ruling from the Kenyan court temporarily halting the quarantine center's opening.

The court order explicitly restrains the respondents "from establishing… any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya." This decision comes as Kenya has been actively testing arrivals but has not yet reported any Ebola cases within its territory from the current outbreak.

raises grave constitutional concerns

— Katiba InstituteThe Kenyan rights group's argument regarding the secrecy and unilateral establishment of the facility.

The underlying agreement between Kenya and the U.S. for health cooperation, signed in December, is now facing legal challenges. The Katiba Institute, the Kenyan rights group behind the petition, argued that the quarantine center's establishment was conducted in secrecy and unilaterally, raising "grave constitutional concerns."

Adding to the controversy, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has condemned the move, accusing the government of "trading the lives of its citizens for foreign aid." Kenyan doctors have threatened industrial action if the details of the negotiations are not made public. While Kenya's health ministry has expressed willingness to collaborate with other nations, including the U.S., it has not directly addressed the specific concerns surrounding the quarantine facility. The government has 48 hours to respond to the petition, with a court mention scheduled for June 2.

the government was trading “the lives of its citizens for foreign aid”.

— Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists UnionCondemning the agreement and the establishment of the quarantine center.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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