Kenyan protests oppose US-backed Ebola quarantine

Hundreds of people protested in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki on Monday against a planned U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base, according to Reuters witnesses, residents and Kenyan media footage. The demonstration came days after Kenya’s High Court temporarily suspended the plan and barred the admission or transfer into Kenya of people exposed to or infected with Ebola. U.S. officials had said the 50-bed unit was intended for Americans exposed to the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and still showing no symptoms. Kenya has not recorded any Ebola cases, according to reporting by CNN. ### Where did the protest happen, and who was protesting? Nanyuki, a town in Laikipia County about 125 miles north of Nairobi, was the site of Monday’s protest because the planned facility is tied to Laikipia Air Base nearby. Reuters reported that footage showed a crowd about 4 km from the proposed site, with smoke rising from burning material on the road, while NTV Kenya and Citizen Kenya showed people outside the air base wall with soldiers on guard. (usnews.com) Patrick Wahome, identified by Reuters as one of the protest organizers, said residents wanted the facility shut down permanently by Tuesday, June 9. He said the concern was that military personnel based there live in the community and share schools and daily life with local residents. Cafe owner Patrick Maina told Reuters he had closed his business because of the unrest and expected disruption to continue. (usnews.com) ### What exactly was the United States planning to build there? U.S. officials said last week that the facility at Laikipia Air Base would quarantine Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad rather than fly them directly back to the United States. Reuters, AP and Daily Nation reported that the unit was planned as a 50-bed site and was expected to become operational by Friday, May 29. Daily Nation reported that the White House described it as a “state-of-the-art facility” built, staffed and run by Americans. (usnews.com) Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said Washington intended to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness, according to statements reported by Daily Nation and AP. Kenya’s Health Ministry said the partnership would strengthen monitoring, isolation and emergency response capacity, and CNN reported that Kenyan officials also referred to other isolation and treatment centers, including at Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenya National Police Hospital. (usnews.com) ### Why did Kenyan groups go to court? Kenya’s High Court on Friday issued interim orders stopping the government from establishing, operationalizing, approving or facilitating any Ebola quarantine, isolation or treatment facility under the arrangement pending a further hearing. The court also stopped the admission, transfer or receipt into Kenya of people exposed to or infected with Ebola under the disputed plan, according to Daily Nation. (nation.africa) Katiba Institute challenged the arrangement on constitutional and public-health grounds, saying it had been negotiated without public participation, parliamentary oversight or disclosure of its terms, Daily Nation reported. AP said the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog also challenged the plan, arguing that Kenya’s health system was too fragile to safely quarantine foreign Ebola patients. (nation.africa) ### What were local critics objecting to besides Ebola itself? The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum last week to disclose the terms of the U.S. arrangement or face a nationwide doctors’ strike, Daily Nation reported. Secretary-General Davji Bhimji Atellah said Kenya was “a sovereign republic, not a geopolitical isolation ward,” and questioned why exposed U.S. citizens would be flown into Kenyan airspace if evacuation to the United States was considered too risky. (nation.africa) Aden Duale, Kenya’s health minister, said on Sunday that the quarantine center was for “everyone” and not exclusively for U.S. nationals, according to AP. Reuters reported that diplomats and experts said military aircraft activity in and out of Nanyuki late last week appeared to be part of ongoing U.S. preparations despite the court order. (nation.africa) ### What happens next in the case? Friday’s court order remains in force pending an inter-partes hearing in Kenya, and Reuters reported protesters were demanding a permanent halt by Tuesday, June 9. That hearing will determine whether the temporary conservatory orders stay in place while the underlying petitions proceed. June 9 is now the next key date in the dispute, with the Kenyan government, Katiba Institute, the Law Society of Kenya and U.S.-linked officials all implicated in the outcome of the Laikipia Air Base plan. (wtop.com) (nation.africa)