Kenya blocks U.S. Ebola quarantine facility amid deadly protests

2 min readUpdated June 10, 2026

A Kenyan high court extended its suspension of a proposed U.S. Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base, as protests against the plan turned deadly, with at least two people killed in the central town of Nanyuki, according to multiple outlets.

Under the extended order, the Kenyan government must halt all construction and operational activity at the site and turn over every agreement tied to the project ahead of a June 23 hearing, according to ABC News. Petitioners from the Law Society of Kenya and the Katiba Institute, a group devoted to upholding Kenya's constitution, brought the legal challenge on grounds that the country's strained health infrastructure is ill-equipped to manage incoming Ebola patients from abroad.

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Demonstrations resumed Tuesday, drawing hundreds more to the streets; officers responded with tear gas and took over 10 people into custody, according to NBC News. In a statement posted to its X $TWTR account, the Kenya Human Rights Commission alleged that officers wearing hoods discharged live ammunition, detained 19 demonstrators, and assaulted both protesters and members of the press.

President William Ruto came to the defense of the facility, telling reporters he accepted the arrangement because of a decades-long bilateral relationship with Washington, noting that the request had come directly from President Trump, according to The Associated Press. "We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing," Ruto said, according to the AP.

The Trump administration has said it will not allow any Americans exposed to Ebola to return to the U.S. for treatment. Americans who had been exposed to the virus but had not yet developed symptoms were to be housed at the Nanyuki site, which was tied to the Bundibugyo strain outbreak spreading across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda — a variant that currently lacks any licensed vaccine or cure, according to The Associated Press. The U.S. committed $13.5 million toward Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts as part of the arrangement.

The World Health Organization had recorded 321 confirmed cases and 48 deaths in Congo, along with 15 confirmed cases and one associated death in Uganda, according to NBC News.

Kenya court extends block on U.S. Ebola quarantine facility as protests turn deadly

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