NAIROBI, June 23, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Kenya has ordered a halt to preparations 
for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, the health minister told a court 
Tuesday, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work 
order.

Kenyans have strongly opposed the plan and deadly protests have taken place 
since the facility was announced in May for potential US citizens evacuated 
from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a major Ebola 
outbreak.

It has been constructed at Laikipia Air Base, about 200 kilometres (125 
miles) from the capital, Nairobi, with some 50 isolation beds and was 
expected to be managed by US medical staff.

Kenya's government ignored a previous order by the high court to stop work on 
the site.

Rights groups had petitioned the court, saying the facility was being 
developed secretly and without consultation.

On Monday, the court said health minister Aden Duale was held in contempt for 
failing to respond to the order and should appear for sentencing.

He appeared in court on Tuesday and apologised, saying: "I have directed the 
immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction, site 
preparation, or related activities concerning the Laikipia Air Base facility 
pending the hearing and determination of the substantive petition or until 
further orders of this court."

Three people have been killed in unrest near the facility in Laikipia.

Kenya has never recorded a case of Ebola and many oppose bringing potential 
carriers of the highly contagious disease into the country.

The United States has also pledged $13.5 million to support Kenya's Ebola 
preparedness efforts, but critics also oppose what they see as colonial 
overtones in the arrangement.