Ebola quarantine center for Americans is up and working in Kenya despite a court ban, activists say

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan activists on Monday accused authorities of violating a court order from last month halting the setting up of an American-backed Ebola quarantine center after reports surfaced that Americans were being quarantined in the country.

The center was meant to take in and quarantine Americans evacuated from Congo, where an Ebola outbreak that erupted two months ago has so far killed at least 930 people, out of the 2,344 cases confirmed there.

A U.S. humanitarian organization, the Samaritan’s Purse, said over the weekend that seven of its American staff from Congo were being quarantined in “large military tents” for 21 days in Kenya, adding that none had so far shown symptoms of Ebola.

The organization did not say where in Kenya their workers were quarantined but local media have reported that military tents in Laikipia Air Base would house the U.S.-backed Ebola facility. The air base is about 185 kilometers (115 miles) north from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, near the town of Nanyuki.

Residents of Nanyuki have staged a series of protests against the facility recently, and two people have died when the protests turned violent.

Both Kenya’s Ministry of Health and the U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for comment about whether Americans were being quarantined in Kenya. The Laikipia Air Base could also not be reached for comment.

Kenya — hundreds of miles to the east of Congo and with the country of Uganda between them — has no confirmed Ebola cases but is a key U.S. ally in Africa. The United States has pledged $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.

Kenyan President William Ruto has defended the planned U.S.-backed quarantine facility, describing it as part of a partnership with the U.S. He said there were also plans to establish 24 additional Ebola preparedness centers across the country, with U.S. funding.

However, a Kenyan court last month issued an order that barred the operationalization of the facility and Health Minister Aden Duale later ordered suspension of its construction.

The case was based on a petition by the Law Society of Kenya and constitutional lobby group Katiba Institute, which had argued against establishing a quarantine for Americans from Congo, saying that Kenya’s fragile health system could be overwhelmed in the event of an Ebola outbreak.

Katiba Institute’s chief Nora Mbagathi told The Associated Press the activists groups were concerned about the latest reports of Americans already being quarantined in Kenya.

“Should any Kenyan government official be involved … they have completely betrayed the public trust and must be held personally accountable,” Mbagathi added.

In a statement to the AP, the Law Society of Kenya said on Monday that a “deliberate” violation of a court order would amount to “impunity and lawlessness.”

Samaritan’s Purse said its staff had been working on the front lines of the Ebola response in Congo, where the organization operates two treatment centers in Bunia and Nyankunde.

“They are being housed in large military tents in a fenced gravel compound, sleeping on military cots, and their food is being provided by the U.S. military,” Samaritan’s Purse President and CEO Franklin Graham said in a statement.

Graham did not respond to questions why the quarantine was up and working in Kenya despite the court order.

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