Kenya Health Minister Found In Court Disgrace Over US‑Backed Ebola Centre

Kenya’s health minister Aden Duale was convicted of contempt of court for disregarding a High Court order that halted the construction of a 50‑bed isolation facility in Nanyuki.

The planned quarantine centre is for US citizens who may have been exposed to Ebola during the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was built despite the court ruling that the construction must stop until a rights‑group case is heard.

Weeks before the ruling a wave of angry protests erupted in Nanyuki, resulting in police arrests and the deaths of three demonstrators, including a 17‑year‑old schoolboy, Sylvester Muigai Ndung’u.

Kenya has yet to record any Ebola cases while the outbreak in Congo has surpassed a thousand confirmed cases and Uganda has had twenty, most imported from the Congo.

President William Ruto defended the project and urged the country not to politicise a serious disease. He also called on politicians to avoid reckless talk about the outbreak.

The Kenyan Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union accused the country of acting as a containment colony for a virus that was not made in Kenya.

The United States pledged $13.5 million for Kenya’s Ebola preparedness as part of a $112 million regional assistance package.