Kenyan government halts US Ebola centre as health minister faces contempt case

Kenya has ordered a halt to preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, the health minister told a court Tuesday, after the minister was held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order.

Kenyans have strongly opposed the plan, and deadly protests have taken place since the facility was announced in May for potential US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a major Ebola outbreak.

Three people have been killed in unrest near the facility in Laikipia.

It has been constructed at Laikipia Air Base, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, with some 50 isolation beds, and was expected to be managed by US medical staff.

Ignoring court orders

Kenya's government ignored a previous order by the high court to stop work on the site.

Rights groups had petitioned the court, saying the facility was being developed secretly and without consultation.

On Monday, the court said health minister Aden Duale was held in contempt for failing to respond to the order and should appear for sentencing.

He appeared in court on Tuesday and apologised, saying: "I have directed the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction, site preparation, or related activities concerning the Laikipia Air Base facility pending the hearing and determination of the substantive petition or until further orders of this court."

Kenya has never recorded a case of Ebola and many oppose bringing potential carriers of the highly contagious disease into the country.

‘Colonial overtones’

The United States has also pledged $13.5 million to support Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts, but critics also oppose what they see as colonial overtones in the arrangement.

Kenya's High Court found Health Minister Aden Duale ​in contempt of court on Monday for disobeying ‌orders to halt the construction of a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility at an air base in central Kenya, a court ​document showed.

The ruling follows protests in Kenya ​over the establishment of the facility, which is ⁠intended to host Americans exposed to Ebola during ​the outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and ​Uganda.

In the ruling, Justice Patricia ‌Nyaundi ⁠Mande said Duale was guilty of contempt of court by commissioning construction at the site despite orders issued in late May and early June.

"The Court ​cannot permit ​its orders to ⁠be rendered hollow," she said.

Ruto has defended the project, telling Reuters in ​an interview last week that Nairobi was ​right ⁠to allow the U.S. to build the isolation centre as part of Kenya's broader preparedness plan.