Kenya Defends $13 Million US Ebola Quarantine Plan Amid Court and Civil Unrest

Kenya’s government says it will not retreat on a $13 million US-backed Ebola facility, with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale declaring the country has “no apology to make” for the deal.

Speaking on national television, Duale defended the Laikipia Air Base site as one of 23 isolation centers and a product of more than two decades of US health cooperation. Neither a court order nor deadly protests have moved him.

Ebola is terrifying, but this chart puts its contagiousness in perspective.One person with Ebola infects about 1.5 to 2.5 others on average, while measles can infect 12 to 18.That means Ebola is deadlier than it is easily spread, which is exactly why the fear around it often… https://t.co/GEhqiDdr7I pic.twitter.com/MKdR9TPz1E

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 2, 2026

“No Apology” on Live Television

Duale’s defense came in a combative interview, where he clashed with the host over who controls the facility and why the plan stayed quiet for so long. He insisted the project is Kenyan-run.

The base commander and Kenya Defense Forces medical leadership will reportedly oversee the site, he said, working with US colleagues. The unit would reportedly treat Kenyan security personnel and Americans alike.

He dismissed claims that the facility is reserved for US citizens. The 23 centers will serve any patient nationwide, he argued, including Kenyans returning from the outbreak zone.

“…we have no apology to make because we have partnered with the US in the health sector for over 23 years,” Duale said in the interview.

His 23-year figure tracks the US health footprint in Kenya. Through PEPFAR, launched in 2003, Washington has invested at least $8 billion in the country’s HIV response.

The $13 million at the center of the row is preparedness funding, not a price tag for one site. It followed a call between President Ruto and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Duale put the US contribution at roughly 1.7 billion Kenyan shillings ($13 million) for the wider response.

He also rejected suggestions that someone was paid to secure the agreement, calling the question “pedestrian.”

On communication, he gave ground, conceding the government could have explained the plan earlier.

Sovereignty and the “Import” Question

Critics asked why Kenya would host a disease in a country with no recorded cases. Duale’s answer leaned on geography and obligation.

"Why do Americans think that their lives are more important than the lives of Kenyans?" My CNN report on the public opposition to an Ebola isolation facility for Americans in Kenya pic.twitter.com/zC8YW9VFej

— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) May 30, 2026

Thousands of Kenyans live and work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he noted, alongside more than 450 soldiers in the UN peace mission. Sealing the country off would abandon them.

He pointed to World Health Organization guidance against closing borders during the outbreak. The virus, he said, does not recognize frontiers.

“We will not compromise the sovereignty and the nationality of our country”

Duale cited Sections 35 and 36 of the Public Health Act as the legal basis for his powers during an epidemic. He framed the centers as preparedness rather than a reaction to any local case.

The WHO declared the Bundibugyo strain outbreak a public health emergency on May 17. The strain has no licensed vaccine, which has heightened public fear.

He also questioned why this outbreak, the 17th by his count, has triggered such alarm. The missing vaccine, he suggested, is the real difference.

A Court Block, Protests, and Defiance

A High Court judge suspended the plan on May 29, after activists petitioned against the roughly 50-bed unit. On June 2, Justice Patricia Nyaundi extended the halt.

She gave the state seven days to disclose every agreement, approval, and protocol. The next hearing is set for June 23.

Despite the order, US equipment and specialists continued arriving at the base. Duale insisted the government respects the courts while pressing ahead with national preparedness.

US continues Ebola facility construction in Kenya despite court order, protests and rising tensions over quarantine operations. https://t.co/aZ9KpXXf7Y pic.twitter.com/EVQHcNjqHz

— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) June 4, 2026

The standoff turned violent. Two people were killed by gunshots during protests in Nanyuki, near the base, according to a protest organizer.

Duale blamed “paid up protesters” and urged local leaders to act responsibly. Opposition doctors and civil society groups counter that the deal trades biosecurity for foreign aid without proper consultation.

He sought to reassure the public with numbers. Kenya has screened more than 72,000 travelers across 26 ports of entry, he said, and detected no Ebola case at home.

Washington frames the project as mutually beneficial. The United States says it is the largest contributor to the response, having pledged more than $162 million.

However, Marco Rubio recently said the US will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the country.

“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.”Sec. Marco Rubio vows to keep Ebola out of the U.S., deploying aggressive tracking and targeted assistance to contain the outbreak at its source.“We've searched assistance to make sure that that is… pic.twitter.com/qovrLzcOC0

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) May 27, 2026

That marks a reversal. During the 2014 outbreak, the US flew infected citizens home to biocontainment units such as Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. This plan keeps exposed Americans outside the country instead.

The court’s disclosure deadline will test how much of the agreement was negotiated in public view. The result may shape how Kenya, a self-styled regional health hub, strikes future deals with powerful partners.