U.S. plan to quarantine Ebola-Exposed Americans in Kenya faces legal challenge

Kenya has been thrust into controversy after Nairobi accepted a U.S. proposal to set up an Ebola quarantine facility in central Kenya for American citizens exposed to the virus during the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The arrangement would give the United States access to land at Laikipia Air Base, a Kenyan military facility in central Kenya, where a 50-bed quarantine unit would be set up. The facility would be staffed by members of the U.S. Public Health Service and used to isolate and monitor Americans who had been exposed to Ebola but were not necessarily confirmed to be infected.

The United States has also pledged $13.5 million to support Kenya’s Ebola preparedness, including medical supplies and systems meant to strengthen the country’s ability to respond to the outbreak.

After days of silence on the details of the deal, Kenya’s Ministry of Health released a statement.

Kenya’s health minister Aden Duale said the planned Laikipia facility would strengthen monitoring, isolation and emergency response capacity.

“These investments will strengthen Kenya’s health security by improving laboratory capacity, healthcare infrastructure, disease surveillance, emergency response systems, supply chains, and workforce readiness beyond the current Ebola threat,” Duale said. “By strengthening critical health systems today, these investments will leave Kenya better prepared for future outbreaks and other public health challenges,” he added.

The U.S. Department of State said, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call with Kenyan President William Ruto, that “the United States’ highest priority remains protecting the health and security of the American people by working to prevent the Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores.”

The arrangement is a move away from earlier Ebola responses, when infected or exposed American health workers were often flown back to specialized treatment centers in the United States. Critics in Kenya say the plan shifts risk away from the U.S. and onto Kenya, a country that has not reported Ebola cases from the current outbreak.

On Friday, Kenya’s High Court suspended the proposed facility after legal challenges were filed by Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya. The court order blocks the government from admitting anyone exposed to or infected with Ebola under the disputed arrangement until the matter is heard. The next court hearing is expected on June 2.

After the court decision, Katiba Institute released a statement notifying the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi about the High Court decision. According to the notice, the orders suspend any proposed U.S.-supported Ebola quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya while the matter awaits a full hearing. The institute states that the court order prevents the Kenyan government and related parties from setting up or operating the facility, and also bars the admission or transfer into Kenya of anyone exposed to or infected with Ebola under the disputed plan. It urges the U.S. to “respect sovereignty of Kenya’s legal system.”

The Law Society of Kenya has also challenged the plan, arguing that any agreement should be nullified if it was made without public participation and proper legal safeguards.

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has also challenged the decision, accusing the Kenyan government of betrayal by “importing an international health crisis” while the local healthcare sector is suffering. The union has also urged the government to provide transparency on the deal and prioritize local staffing.

In a statement, the U.S. foreign assistance office said it was “aware of the court action filed in Kenya against the Ebola isolation facility,” adding that it was “in touch with Kenyan authorities” and was optimistic that objections could be resolved.

The current outbreak is especially worrying because it involves Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola virus for which there is no approved vaccine. The outbreak is affecting remote areas of the DRC and Uganda, and no cases linked to the outbreak have been confirmed in the United States.

For Kenya, this is not the first controversial partnership it has entered into with the Trump administration. Kenya became the first African country to sign a bilateral health agreement under the Trump administration’s “America First Global Health Strategy” on December 4, 2025. The five-year framework is valued at about $2.5 billion, with the United States planning to provide up to $1.6 billion and Kenya pledging about $850 million in domestic health spending. The agreement represents a major shift in how Washington delivers health aid. Instead of relying mainly on large NGOs or multilateral channels, the Trump administration’s model intended to direct government-to-government cooperation, co-financing by recipient countries. U.S. officials presented the Kenya deal as the first of many such agreements, and similar arrangements were later reported with several African countries, including Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon, Eswatini, Lesotho, Liberia and Mozambique.

Similar to the current deal, that agreement has also drawn criticism and legal challenges in Kenya, especially over health data sharing, transparency and sovereignty. The legal challenges stemmed from concerns over whether the agreement could give the U.S. broad access to sensitive Kenyan health and disease-surveillance data, while critics also argued that the public and Parliament needed more information about the terms.