Kenyan court halts Trump administration’s Ebola quarantine facility plans

A Kenyan High Court has issued an interim order halting the Trump administration’s plan to establish a makeshift Ebola quarantine and treatment facility in Laikipia, citing an imminent threat to life. The order was issued following a petition by the Katiba Institute, which challenged the unilateral move on constitutional grounds. The administration had intended to use the facility to house US citizens exposed to the virus during the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rather than repatriating them to the United States. The court has suspended the plan until a full hearing on June 2.

The initial proposal involved a 50-bed quarantine facility near a US air base in Laikipia, approximately 120 miles north of Nairobi, which was expected to be operational by May 29. A second phase of the plan included isolation and biocontainment units for infected Americans. The Katiba Institute, a Kenyan advocacy group, filed a petition on Thursday challenging the move on constitutional grounds, citing concerns over rights to life, health, fair administrative action, and parliamentary oversight.

The Katiba Institute is seeking disclosure of the terms of any agreement between Kenya and the US and Kenya’s preparedness plan for a potential outbreak. In a statement, the institute emphasised that the case was about preserving constitutional accountability and ensuring that no government may place expediency above the lives and safety of the people of Kenya.

Daniel Bausch, a physician-scientist, described the Trump administration’s response as "appalling" and attributed it to a broader pattern of policy decisions, including the withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the dismantling of USAID. Bausch noted that the approach reflected a pattern of maximum selfishness in US government policy, stating that observers were not surprised given recent institutional changes.

As of Friday, the WHO reported 1,041 cases (135 confirmed, 906 suspected) and 241 deaths (18 confirmed, 223 suspected) in the DRC outbreak. Trump officials stated that infected Americans requiring high-level care would be evacuated to Europe, though no specific destination had been determined. The US has previously treated Ebola patients domestically, with no secondary transmission reported among repatriated cases, according to Stat News.