Kenyan court suspends US Ebola quarantine facility plan

A Kenyan court ordered a halt to an agreement to establish an Ebola quarantine facility for United States nationals exposed to the virus. The facility was intended to isolate and monitor potentially exposed citizens in Kenya instead of transporting them directly home for treatment. The plan faced backlash from health workers and rights activists, who challenged it in court. The Katiba Institute argued the facility was being established in secrecy and unilaterally, with unclear location and unclear formal approval. The petition warned that bringing Ebola-exposed individuals into a country with no known cases could increase the risk of spread. The case is scheduled to be heard next week while the court’s suspension remains in effect.

"A Kenyan court has suspended a plan to establish an Ebola quarantine facility for United States nationals exposed to the virus following a backlash from health workers and rights activists. High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi on Friday ordered a halt to the agreement on the facility, pending a ruling in a legal challenge brought by activists. The case should be heard next week."

"The proposed arrangement emerged amid fears that the disease could spread beyond Central Africa. An outbreak centred on the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and crossing into Uganda has killed more than 200 people. As countries seek to avert the spread internationally, the US struck a deal to isolate and monitor potentially exposed citizens in Kenya rather than transport them directly home for treatment."

"The Katiba Institute, a Kenyan rights group, said in a petition challenging the planned facility, which was due to start operating on Friday, that it was being established in secrecy and unilaterally and that it raises grave constitutional concerns. The filing warned of grave and imminent risks to public health, arguing in court that bringing Ebola-exposed individuals into Kenya, which has no known cases of the virus, could increase the risk of the disease spreading in the country."

"When the legal challenge was issued, it was unclear where the facility was to be located, or whether the Kenyan government had formally approved the plan. Nairobi has publicly acknowledged discussions with Washington over support for Ebola preparedness efforts, but has not directly addressed the reports about a quarantine facility. The secretive, unilateral establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility raises grave constitutional concerns regarding the rights to life, health, fair administrative action, public participation, and parliamentary oversight."

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