Protests against US Ebola facility in Kenya turn deadly
Two people were killed protesting the proposed quarantine facility.
Two people died and others were injured during protests against a proposed Ebola quarantine facility for U.S. citizens in central Kenya.
Hundreds took to the streets in the town of Nanyuki on Monday and marched to the military base where the Kenyan government has agreed to allow U.S. medical personnel to quarantine, and potentially treat, any U.S. citizens who may have been exposed to Ebola.
Protesters began gathering outside Laikipia Air Base, a few miles outside Nanyuki and 150 miles north of the capital city of Nairobi, early on Monday, calling for their government to refuse the U.S. request to use the air base. Many said they were afraid the facility would bring Ebola to the town.
The protests turned deadly after police opened fire on the crowd and killed two men, one of the organizers told ABC News. A local health official confirmed the bodies of two men were brought to the Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital. The official also said three people were injured in the incident.
Plans for the controversial facility were announced last week after the Trump administration refused to allow U.S. citizens exposed to the virus to return home.
"We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting last Wednesday.
The proposed facility has been met with strong opposition in Kenya.
"If you want to help Americans affected by Ebola, fly them to America or Germany and leave Kenya alone out of this Ebola quagmire," 38-year-old Fredrick Ojiro, coordinator of the campaign to block the facility, told ABC News.
Ojiro said that "Kenyans will rise up" if the facility opens, adding that activists are mobilizing citizens, medical professionals and civil society groups for nationwide demonstrations.
"Kenya is a sovereign country. You cannot trade money at the expense of the health of Kenyans," he said.
Ojiro and others argue that Kenya lacks the medical infrastructure and specialist capacity required to safely handle Ebola cases, citing concerns raised by Kenya's doctors' union.
"If American doctors infected in Congo can be flown to Germany for treatment, why can't American citizens be flown there instead of bringing the risk to Kenya?" Ojiro asked.
He also accused both the Kenyan and U.S. governments of disregarding court orders that called for a temporary halt to the project.
Last week, a Kenyan court temporarily halted the plan to build the 50-bed unit. Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi upheld that decision Tuesday and ordered the government to cease all building and operations at the base while the case is resolved. She also called for all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility to be disclosed before the next hearing, scheduled for June 23.
"We 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," the U.S. State Department said last week after the initial Kenyan court decision.
"The government's absence today speaks volumes: Our leaders are answering to the U.S. instead of the Kenyan people," Nora Mbagathi, executive director of the Katiba Institute, the human rights organization that brought the case to court, told ABC News.
"The court, however, stepped in to stop this facility. We expect both Kenya and the U.S. to fully comply. The Kenyan constitution is non-negotiable," Mbagathi added.
Kenyan President William Ruto defended his decision to allow the U.S. to establish the Ebola facility.
"When President Trump asked the government of Kenya to support them by having a center at Laikipia Air Base, I gave the OK," Ruto said on national television on Tuesday.
"The quarantine facility being established at Laikipia Air Base with the support of the United States is neither unique nor exceptional, but part of a broader national preparedness system," Ruto wrote on X Tuesday, adding that it was one of 23 centers set up under Kenya's disease preparedness framework.
"Kenya's partnership with the United States spans decades and has played an important role in supporting our response to major public health challenges, including HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and Ebola," Ruto wrote.
The WHO officially declared the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda "a public health emergency of international concern" on May 17.
Since then, there have been 344 confirmed cases in DRC and 15 in Uganda, according to the CDC. There have been no recorded cases in Kenya or any other countries beyond the DRC and Uganda.
So far, one American, Dr. Peter Stafford, is in treatment with Ebola in Germany, along with his wife and three children who are in quarantine after high risk exposure. Dr. Patrick LaRochelle is in quarantine in Prague for exposure, but has so far tested negative for Ebola.
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