A Kenyan court on Friday temporarily blocked the opening of a new Ebola quarantine center for U.S. nationals on the same day the facility was set to open.The U.S. and the Kenyan government recently reached an agreement allowing Washington to establish the center to monitor U.S. citizens from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, where the Ebola outbreak is concentrated. But a Kenyan advocacy group known as Katiba Institute challenged the development, alleging the 50-bed facility was being established in a “secretive, unilateral” manner that “raises grave constitutional concerns regarding the rights to life, health, fair administrative action, public participation, and parliamentary oversight.”“A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from establishing … any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya,” Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi said, in response to the challenge.
Graphic by Grace Hagerman / Washington Examiner
The order temporarily bars the facility from opening until the case is heard and resolved. The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2.
The facility lies in Kenya, which neighbors Uganda, where some Ebola cases have popped up. The Trump administration is donating $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness and response.
