The High Court in Nairobi has suspended the planned establishment of a United States-linked Ebola quarantine and treatment facility in Laikipia County following an urgent petition filed by the Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
In conservatory orders issued at the Milimani Law Courts, the court barred the government from establishing, operationalising, facilitating, or approving any Ebola quarantine, isolation, exposure, or treatment facility connected to the disputed arrangement pending further hearings.
The court also prohibited the government from admitting, receiving, transferring, or facilitating the entry into Kenya of any persons exposed to or infected with Ebola under the proposed deal.
“Upon reading the Notice of Motion dated May 28, 2026, a conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from establishing, operationalising, facilitating, approving establishment of any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya,” the court ruled.
The petitioners argue that the agreement between Kenya and the United States lacks transparency, public participation, parliamentary oversight, and adequate public health safeguards.
The legal challenge emerged after reports indicated that the U.S. planned to establish a quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base to host Americans exposed to Ebola amid the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The case is expected to intensify scrutiny over the government’s handling of the controversial arrangement and broader concerns about national biosecurity and public health preparedness.