Two people have been shot dead in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki amid protests against US plans to establish an Ebola isolation centre at a military base nearby, the BBC has learnt.
One of the victims was shot in an area close to the Laikipia Airbase where a demonstration was taking place. He died after being brought to the town’s hospital by friends.
The other victim was already dead when he was taken to the hospital by soldiers.
The circumstances of their deaths are not clear, and officials have not commented on the matter. A police spokesman told the Reuters news agency he was not aware of any deaths.
On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators marched through the town’s streets, blocking roads and burning tyres, with police firing tear gas to disperse them.
Community leader Patrick Wahome told the BBC that one of those who died was shot when he “was heading home after closing his business”.
The BBC has been unable to confirm the circumstances in which the second man died. Both bodies, which are in the hospital morgue, appear to have gunshot wounds – one in the chest and the other on the shoulder.
The US plan to establish an Ebola treatment facility in Kenya has sparked public concern about cross-border infection risks.
The 50-bed isolation centre is to be staffed by US medics and is intended to treat US citizens affected by the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenya has not recorded any Ebola cases so far.
Last Friday, the High Court said the opening of the centre should be halted after a rights group opened a case alleging the facility posed “grave and imminent risks” to public health.
Speaking for the first time about the issue on Monday evening, President William Ruto defended the plan saying that Kenya had “deployed every arsenal” to protect the country.
He told journalists that the US government had requested Kenyan support in dealing with the virus, which he had promptly accepted, describing it as a “mutual agreement”.
“When President [Donald] Trump asked Kenya to support them by having a centre in Laikipia Airbase I gave the ok because it was an agreement with friends who have walked with Kenya for 30, 40 years,” he said.
He called on Kenyans not to politicise a matter “so serious” as Ebola, asking politicians to avoid “reckless” talk about it.
“We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing,” he added.
The High Court on Tuesday extended the suspension, ordering the government to disclose the details of the proposed Ebola facility.
Military aircraft have been seen flying in and out of the airbase in what experts say is ongoing preparation despite the court order.
Kenya’s doctors’ union and government watchdogs have opposed the plan saying it risks exposing local populations.
