Kenya's Health Minister Aden Duale Found in Contempt of Court Over US-Backed Ebola Quarantine Facility

Kenya's High Court has found Health Minister Aden Duale in contempt of court for continuing construction on a controversial, US-funded Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base despite multiple judicial halt orders. The facility, designed to isolate US citizens exposed to the regional Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, has sparked fierce local opposition and protests in Nanyuki that resulted in three deaths. Duale faces sentencing on June 23, 2026, amid rising tensions between government partnerships and public health concerns.

Duale contempt of court

• ▪Kenya's High Court found Health Minister Aden Duale in contempt of court on June 22, 2026, for failing to halt construction of a US-backed Ebola quarantine facility
• ▪Health Minister Aden Duale is scheduled to appear in court on June 23, 2026, for mitigation and sentencing, facing a maximum fine of 200,000 shillings ($1,500) and/or six months in jail

US Ebola quarantine facility

• ▪The United States government pledged $13.5 million in aid to fund Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts as part of a larger $112 million regional response commitment
• ▪The quarantine facility is intended to house United States citizens exposed to or suspected of contracting Ebola during the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda
• ▪The proposed Ebola quarantine facility is located at the Laikipia Air Base near the town of Nanyuki in central Kenya

Construction despite court orders

• ▪Residents living near Laikipia Air Base reported seeing United States military aircraft landing after the court issued its initial suspension order on May 29, 2026
• ▪Justice Patricia Nyaundi Mande ruled that Health Minister Aden Duale allowed construction to continue at the Nanyuki site despite court orders issued in late May and early June 2026 to halt activities
• ▪The Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya petitioned the court to stop construction, arguing the facility was developed secretly without public consultation and posed grave risks to Kenya's overstretched healthcare system

Public protests against facility

• ▪The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) strongly opposed the facility, criticizing the decision to use Kenya as a containment site for foreign Ebola patients
• ▪Protests in Nanyuki against the proposed US Ebola quarantine facility resulted in at least three deaths as police attempted to disperse demonstrators

DRC Ebola outbreak deaths

• ▪Uganda has reported up to 20 confirmed Ebola cases, including two deaths, with most cases imported from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo
• ▪The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded over 1,000 cases, including 896 confirmed cases and at least 232 deaths as of June 17, 2026

Healthcare worker infections

• ▪Kenyan doctors and medical professionals expressed concern that importing the Ebola virus would severely threaten Kenya's already fragile health system
• ▪At least 75 healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have contracted the Ebola virus during the current outbreak, resulting in 17 recorded deaths