Katiba Institute files petition to halt proposed Ebola treatment centre plans

Ajouté : 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Legal Aid Institution, Katiba Institute, has filed a petition at the High Court in Nairobi seeking conservatory orders halting any plans to establish, operationalize, or approve Ebola-related quarantine or treatment centers in Kenya for foreign governments pending hearing and determination of the case. This as Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union, KMPDU, issued 48-hour strike notice if the government fails to make public details of the proposed center. The government has however defended the planned partnership arguing that it is being done in accordance with the laws of Kenya. And as Mary Mwikali reports, here's the story.

[00:00:43]>> The news that the government and the US have discussed establishing a quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya for American citizens exposed to the Ebola virus continue to elicit strong reactions from Kenyans who are accusing the government of failing to prioritize the welfare of the Kenyan people. The controversial proposal has ignited massive debate and legal pushback with the Katiba Institute moving to court to block the process. Katiba Institute is asking the court to certify the matter as urgent and issue conservatory orders halting any plans to establish, operationalize, or approve Ebola-related quarantine or treatment centers in Kenya pending hearing and determination of the case. Katiba Institute is also seeking the court to compel the Ministry of Health to present within 24 hours a contingency plan detailing Kenya's preparedness in the event of an Ebola outbreak. The government maintains Kenya has the capacity to host an isolation center while assuring the public safety of all Kenyans.

[00:01:49]>> As we continue to protect the Kenyans, we cannot abdicate our obligation and our duty in global health security. This is what we have been known for for decades.

[00:02:00]>> The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union wants the government to explain why the US is keen on setting an isolation center in Kenya while nations directly bordering the epicenter are bypassed.

[00:02:13]>> This quarantine has been established within the territory of the country. It means the government is actually now deliberately bringing the disease from DRC, from Uganda to the country.

[00:02:26]It is a selfish act by the government and it's quite hypocritical with the thinking of the public election. So, we tell the government that the time comes where they have to stand up and be patriotic.

[00:02:35]>> The location is designated to act as a localized quarantine and treatment hub to relocate exposed Americans out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The isolation center set to be hosted at the Laikipia Airbase has caused uproar among local residents.

[00:03:02]>> We can't just have the Ministry of Health, you know, just running things haphazardly. There's [snorts] a reason why we have Parliament so that some of these key decisions are run through that house.

[00:03:13]>> Mary Mwikali, Citizen TV.

[00:03:18]>> And related to that, the Law Society of Kenya has filed a similar suit seeking to stop the establishment of a US government Ebola quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya.