Kenya Police Clash With Protesters Over US-Linked Ebola Quarantine Centre

Police in Kenya clashed with protesters in Nanyuki over a planned US-linked Ebola quarantine centre for travellers from the DRC outbreak zone. Officers used tear gas and made arrests as locals opposed the project, saying it could bring the virus into Kenya, which has never recorded Ebola cases. The government says the facility will strengthen Ebola preparedness, but it remains controversial and has faced legal and public opposition.

Police in Kenya clashed with protesters on Tuesday in the town of Nanyuki as tensions escalated over the construction of a controversial Ebola quarantine facility for US citizens arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a major outbreak is ongoing.
According to AFP journalists at the scene, security forces fired tear gas and made several arrests as hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the Laikipia Air Base, where the facility is being built. Protesters accused authorities of endangering local communities by bringing people potentially exposed to Ebola into a country that has never recorded a single case of the disease. Some demonstrators wore protective equipment and carried a coffin marked “Ebola” as a symbolic protest against the project.
The planned centre, located in the tourist town of Nanyuki under the shadow of Mount Kenya, is expected to include about 50 isolation beds and will reportedly be managed by US personnel. It is designed to quarantine American citizens arriving from the Ebola-affected regions of eastern DRC. The project had already sparked unrest earlier in June, with rights groups alleging that at least two people died during previous protests, although the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Construction of the facility is currently under a temporary suspension order issued by Kenya’s High Court. However, reports indicate that work at the site has continued despite the legal order, further fuelling public anger and drawing opposition from local political leaders in Laikipia County.
The Kenyan government under President William Ruto has defended the project, arguing that it is part of long-standing health cooperation with the United States. Officials say Kenya has benefited from decades of US support in the health sector and that the facility will strengthen preparedness against Ebola and other infectious diseases. President Ruto has said it would be “unfortunate” and “inhumane” to reject a US-funded facility aimed at improving public health capacity, especially given the historical partnership between the two countries.
However, opposition remains strong among local residents and activists, who argue that Kenya should not be used as a quarantine or containment site for foreign nationals exposed to Ebola abroad. Some protesters insisted that countries dealing with outbreaks should manage cases internally rather than transferring risk across borders. One demonstrator told AFP that Kenya should not become a “dumping site” for diseases originating elsewhere.
Kenya’s health ministry has attempted to clarify that the facility would not be exclusively for foreigners, stating that it could also serve Kenyan patients if needed. The United States has also pledged approximately $13.5 million in support of Kenya’s Ebola preparedness and response efforts as part of broader health cooperation agreements between the two countries.
The US embassy in Kenya issued a security advisory for its citizens in Nanyuki following the protests, urging caution as demonstrations continued to grow. The unrest comes amid heightened concern in the region following the World Health Organization’s declaration of an international health emergency over the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which has recorded more than 500 confirmed infections and dozens of deaths.
While Uganda has also reported a small number of cases linked largely to cross-border movement from the DRC, Kenya remains Ebola-free, making the proposed facility particularly sensitive for local communities already wary of cross-border health risks.