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.

BSS/AFP/SSS/1730 hrs