{"id":1992,"date":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/23\/kenyan-minister-orders-halt-to-construction-of-us-ebola-facility\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","slug":"kenyan-minister-orders-halt-to-construction-of-us-ebola-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1992","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan minister orders halt to construction of US Ebola facility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"bf00da8a-0766-43e6-a535-3a2a05aee84f\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Armed officers crouch in a street filled with teargas smoke amid scattered debris\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/40be2d419e5be703940caf2f225ea34f4145bafb\/0_0_2770_2215\/master\/2770.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.8321299638989\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Riot police fire on demonstrators on 9 June during deadly protests against the Ebola quarantine centre at Laikipia air base, in Nanyuki.<\/span> Photograph: Daniel Irungu\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"bf00da8a-0766-43e6-a535-3a2a05aee84f\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Riot police fire on demonstrators on 9 June during deadly protests against the Ebola quarantine centre at Laikipia air base, in Nanyuki.<\/span> Photograph: Daniel Irungu\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Kenyan minister orders halt to construction of US Ebola facility<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Decision comes after Aden Duale was held in contempt for ignoring previous high court ruling to stop work  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Kenya\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/02\/kenyans-fear-us-plan-for-ebola-quarantine-site\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Kenyans strongly oppose the facility<\/a>, with deadly protests erupting since the complex was announced in May for US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/17\/lives-lost-ebola-bunia-workers-drc\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">widespread Ebola outbreak<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">There have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC and more than 250 deaths <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ebola\/situation-summary\/index.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">as of 20 June<\/a>. Neighbouring Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US facility was being constructed at Laikipia air base in Nanyuki, about 125 miles (200km) from the capital, Nairobi, with about 50 isolation beds. It was expected to be managed by US medical staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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\u2019s construction until the groups\u2019 case was heard.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"3b755116-b7ec-4c8c-9f0e-f85a1fe7ff83\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Man on ground with three police over him, one holding his arm and the other with a raised stick\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2cae46d1f0e79b17ddc99689c099056f7d40cd88\/1315_0_7070_5656\/master\/7070.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"3b755116-b7ec-4c8c-9f0e-f85a1fe7ff83\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Police in Nanyuki, Kenya, arrest and beat a protester against the US Laikipia Ebola isolation facility.  <\/span> Photograph: Brian Inganga\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">After the government continued to press ahead, the court said on Monday it was holding the health minister, Aden Duale, in contempt of the order, and that he would appear for sentencing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Tuesday, Duale apologised to the court, saying he had ordered \u201cthe 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\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"893871b1-987e-451c-b2b8-65066a78c66a\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Crowds of people and police with smoke in air\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f226f4da11f7c00a4678d55ae9dbe2c3d5c2ce8f\/831_0_4169_3335\/master\/4169.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"355.9786519549052\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"893871b1-987e-451c-b2b8-65066a78c66a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Crowds protesting on 9 June against the Laikipia facility.  <\/span> Photograph: Luis Tato\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The judge, Patricia Nyaundi Mande, discharged Duale with a warning against further disobeying the court\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Specialist staff and medical equipment continued to be flown into the \u2060airbase after last month\u2019s order, US officials and diplomats told Reuters. There was also a buildup of structures, including tents and paved areas, according to satellite imagery from 22 June viewed by Reuters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Three people have been killed in protests against the quarantine centre. Two died <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/02\/kenyans-fear-us-plan-for-ebola-quarantine-site\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">on 1 June<\/a> and another was shot dead by police <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/09\/man-shot-during-protest-against-proposed-us-ebola-quarantine-facility-in-kenya\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">on 9 June<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Kenya has never recorded a case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ebola\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ebola<\/a> and many Kenyans oppose bringing potential carriers of the highly contagious disease into the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIf it is too dangerous for America, it is <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kmpdu\/status\/2059998657940738095\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">too dangerous for Kenya<\/a>,\u201d Dr Davji Atellah from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union said last month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In court on Tuesday, Duale defended the US quarantine facility, saying that fears Ebola would spread beyond it were \u201cscientifically unfounded\u201d. The president, William Ruto, said earlier this month that Kenya was doing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/healthcare-pharmaceuticals\/ruto-defends-us-backed-ebola-facility-kenya-right-thing-2026-06-04\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201cthe right thing\u201d<\/a> by allowing the facility to go ahead.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1x767ir\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US has promised $13.5m (\u00a310.2m) to support Kenya\u2019s Ebola preparedness efforts, but critics also oppose what they see as the arrangement\u2019s colonial overtones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">During previous Ebola outbreaks, the US allowed its citizens to return home for treatment. This time, officials have said they would not allow anyone with the disease to enter the US. In May, an American doctor who contracted Ebola in the DRC was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/20\/ebola-outbreak-us-doctor-germany\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">flown to Germany<\/a> for care, along with his wife and four children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On 29 May, the US state department <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USForeignAssist\/status\/2060494291252728007\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said on X<\/a>: \u201cWe are aware of the court action filed in Kenya against the Ebola isolation facility. We are in touch with Kenyan authorities and are optimistic we can resolve objections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/may\/15\/ebola-outbreak-drc-africa-deaths\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">outbreak on 15 May<\/a>, and two days later said it was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/17\/who-ebola-outbreak-congo-uganda-global-health-emergency\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">public health emergency of international concern<\/a>. However, experts believe the virus was circulating undetected weeks before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/75\/wr\/mm7522e1.htm?s_cid=OS_mm7522e1_w\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Modelling<\/a> by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the current Ebola outbreak could be the largest on record. The previous biggest outbreak affected west Africa from 2014- to 2016, infecting more than 28,000 people, killing more than 11,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The current strain of Ebola is the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no vaccine or approved treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/ebola\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Ebola<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/kenya\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Kenya<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/weather\/democraticrepublicofcongo\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Kenyan%20minister%20orders%20halt%20to%20construction%20of%20US%20Ebola%20facility&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/23\/kenya-minister-orders-halt-us-ebola-facility?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Fjun%2F23%2Fkenya-minister-orders-halt-us-ebola-facility&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=world\/2026\/jun\/23\/kenya-minister-orders-halt-us-ebola-facility\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1pjhtuq\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Riot police fire on demonstrators on 9 June during deadly protests against the Ebola quarantine centre at Laikipia air base, in Nanyuki. Photograph: Daniel Irungu\/EPA View image in fullscreen Riot &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1992\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}