*Kenya Court Halts Opening of US Ebola Quarantine Centre*
A Kenyan court has temporarily suspended plans to open a US-run Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base, following a petition by the rights group Katiba Institute.
The centre, set to have 50 isolation beds for Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is ongoing, was scheduled to open on Friday. The court issued a conservatory order restraining the government from establishing any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation, or treatment facility in Kenya.
Katiba Institute argued the centre was being set up in secrecy and unilaterally, raising constitutional concerns. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union also condemned the move, accusing the government of trading citizens’ lives for foreign aid, and doctors have threatened industrial action if negotiations remain undisclosed.
Kenya, which has yet to record any Ebola cases in the current outbreak, signed a health deal with the US in December, but the agreement is under legal challenge. The health ministry says it is willing to work with other countries, but has not directly addressed the facility. The government has 48 hours to respond, with the next hearing set for June 2.
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