Kenyan police crack down on protest against US Ebola quarantine facility

By Edwin Okoth

NANYUKI, Kenya, June 9 (Reuters) – Kenyan police fired tear gas and water cannon on Tuesday at hundreds of protesters demonstrating against a quarantine centre for Americans exposed to Ebola that the U.S. has raced to build despite Kenyan court orders barring further work.

The proposed 50-bed unit at the Laikipia Air Base has angered many Kenyans, who accuse the U.S. of offloading the risk of caring for those exposed to the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. 

Two people were killed in protests last week in the central town of Nanyuki, where frustration has grown as Kenyan and U.S. authorities publicly reaffirm their commitment to the plan. 

On Tuesday, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in different parts of the town, which is next to the air force base. Some waved Kenyan flags and one carried a white cross emblazoned with the phrase “Reject Ebola” in red. 

Officers detained at least 10 protesters, a Reuters witness said.

Protester Priscilla Imani said the area’s association with the quarantine facility was scaring away tourists who typically come to climb Mount Kenya or see rhinoceroses at a nearby nature conservancy. 

“My message is this: Laikipia is not a dumping site and our voices must be heard,” she told Reuters. 

U.S. SAYS IT WON’T ALLOW ENTRY OF EBOLA CASES

Several U.S. citizens have been exposed to Ebola in eastern Congo and Uganda, where there have been more than 500 confirmed cases and 100 confirmed deaths from the outbreak declared last month. 

Six, including one who tested positive for the disease, were moved to a medical facility in Germany last month, while another was taken to the Czech Republic.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ⁠said it “cannot and will not allow” any Ebola cases to enter the U.S.

The Nanyuki facility is designated for Americans who ​have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Patients with symptoms would be sent to other countries, U.S. officials have said.

A High Court judge has twice issued orders barring Kenya’s government from taking steps to build or begin operations ⁠at the site. Her latest order gave the government one week to disclose all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility.

Joshua Malidzo, a lawyer challenging the quarantine plan on behalf of the Katiba Institute legal advocacy group, said the court’s deadline expired on Monday without the government complying. 

A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

KENYANS DIRECT ANGER AT PRESIDENT 

Many protesters directed their anger at President William Ruto, with some chanting “Ruto must go!” The president said last week that his administration was doing “the right thing” by establishing the centre.

“Why would a government set up a facility to control a disease we don’t have when they can’t deal with the ones ailing us?” Bethwel Onyango, 24, told Reuters.

U.S. military planes have continued to ferry in staff and equipment after the court issued its orders, according to U.S. and diplomatic sources and flight tracking data, with several aircraft expected to land this week. 

Satellite imagery seen by Reuters shows a build-up of white tents since late May on a roughly 11-acre plot on the air base.

The United States has said it is aware of the court challenge and was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections”.

Shortly after the Kenyan government agreed to the quarantine plan, the U.S. said it would provide $13.5 million for Kenya’s Ebola preparedness effort.  

Kenyan officials have said the facility would also serve Kenyans and foreign nationals, but U.S. officials have not confirmed this. 

(Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Aaron Ross, Clarence Fernandez, Aidan Lewis)