While the Ebola epidemic still rages in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trump administration refuses to repatriate Americans exposed to the virus. Earlier this week, it was revealed that it had even hatched a plan to set up a makeshift quarantine and care center in Kenya, instead of repatriating its citizens to receive high-quality care in specialized, purpose-built facilities. According to initial plans, the American center was to be located in Laikipia, about 190 km north of Nairobi, where the United States has an air base.
Initially, it was planned to set up a fifty-bed quarantine center which was to be operational from May 29. Secondly, authorities were to install isolation and biological containment units to accommodate Americans infected with the virus. Ars Technica goes over the details of this operation in an article.
After a series of events that occurred on Thursday May 28 and Friday May 29, this project is now at a standstill. It was first of all the Katiba Institute, defending the constitutional rights of Kenyans, which filed a petition on May 28 to contest the creation of this quarantine and treatment center.
“The secret and unilateral establishment of an Ebola quarantine center raises serious constitutional concerns regarding the rights to life, health, fair administrative process, public participation and parliamentary oversight“, declared the Katiba Institute in a press release published on its X account.
Katiba Institute Files a Petition Challenging the Proposed Establishment of Ebola Quarantine and Treatment Facilities in Kenya:
Katiba Institute is challenging the proposed establishment of a quarantine facility for American citizens exposed to Ebola and other highly infectious… pic.twitter.com/zay0C0YzFB— Katiba Institute (@katibainstitute) May 28, 2026
The organization is therefore demanding to consult the government’s emergency plan aimed at preventing or responding to a possible spread of the Ebola virus, which is not present in Kenya. The institute is also seeking disclosure of the terms of any agreement between Kenya and the United States regarding this facility.
Kenyan justice suspends the project
“At its core, this case is about upholding constitutional accountability, protecting public health and ensuring that no government can put its immediate interests ahead of the lives and security of the Kenyan people“, declared the Katiba Institute.
On the morning of May 29, a Kenyan high court ordered the Trump administration’s plans to be suspended, citing a “imminent threat to life“, until the case is examined in full on June 2. Otherwise, Trump administration officials said Americans infected with Ebola requiring intensive care would be evacuated to a location in Europe, although they did not specify where exactly.
Daniel Bausch, a physician-scientist who has participated in several past Ebola outbreaks, told Stat News that the Trump administration’s response has been “appalling”, but not surprising. “No one is surprised to see the extreme selfishness of the US government’s policies these days. Because events follow one another. They’ve already pulled out of the WHO…and they’ve already dismantled USAID. So no one is really expecting much from them right now.»
The World Health Organization has reported 1,041 cases (135 confirmed, 906 suspected) and 241 deaths (18 confirmed, 223 suspected) linked to this epidemic.
