Hundreds of young demonstrators marched outside a military base in Kenya over US plans for an Ebola quarantine zone in the country.
The US plans to set up an area at the Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki for American citizens exposed to the virus, aiming to be operational with 50 beds by Friday.
That’s according to a US official, who told the Associated Press that American citizens exposed to Ebola while abroad would not be sent back to the US.
Hundreds of youths marched to the gates of the Kenyan air base on Monday, chanting anti-Ebola slogans and calling for the US plans to be scrapped.
It comes during an outbreak of Ebola in neighbouring Uganda and nearby Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Some held signs critical of the government in Kenya, accusing it of attempting to “kill us through Ebola” among complaints of corruption.
Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu told journalists he was opposed to the quarantine centre as “this will expose our people to Ebola,” noting that many locals work inside the air base and could be exposed.
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Kenya’s High Court has also suspended the establishment of the facility and the arrival of any foreign patient while it waits to hear a case brought by the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog.
The groups argue Kenya has a fragile healthcare system and that therefore the country should not quarantine Ebola patients from elsewhere.
They also said that the country lacks “the high-containment infrastructure required to safely manage such a facility, exposing the public to serious health risks”.
That case will be heard on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a Kenyan doctors union also issued a 48-hour strike notice on Thursday should the country proceed with the deal, saying the country should not become a “dumping ground”.
Kenyan health minister Aden Duale said on Sunday that the quarantine centre was for “everyone” – not exclusively for American nationals – while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the Trump administration intends to commit $13.5m (£10m) toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.
While Kenya has not recorded any cases of the Bundibugyo virus – the current species of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine – Uganda has reported nine and closed its borders to the DRC.
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The outbreak is believed to originate in the east of Congo, where at least 282 confirmed cases have been reported and over 1,000 cases are suspected.
As of Saturday, Jean Kaseya, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said 43 people were confirmed to have died.
Last week, the head of the World Health Organisation said that five people recovered from the rare type of Ebola virus, while suspected cases were investigated in Brazil and Italy.
Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the city of Bunia in the eastern part of the DRC, which is at the heart of an outbreak, as part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
(c) Sky News 2026: Hundreds of Kenyans protest outside airbase over plans to quarantine US citizens with Ebola in
