Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
NANYUKI, Kenya – Police in central Kenya arrested several protesters on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, and fired tear gas to disperse dozens of demonstrators who gathered near the Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki to protest a US-funded Ebola quarantine centre intended to isolate Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major Ebola outbreak continues to claim lives.
The protesters, some wearing protective equipment and carrying a coffin marked with the word “Ebola”, chanted slogans and demanded that the Kenyan government halt the project. “We don't have that disease in this country. They are bringing a virus into our country,” said Zipporah Wachira, 30, one of the demonstrators. The centre, which is nearing completion, is designed to have 50 isolation beds and is to be managed entirely by US staff.
The latest protest comes only days after a court in Nairobi ordered the government to suspend construction and operating activities pending further legal review. The High Court in Nairobi last week extended a temporary suspension order blocking the facility, and also ordered the government to disclose all agreements and operating protocols related to the project. The judge scheduled the next hearing for June 23. However, witnesses reported that US military aircraft have continued to fly staff and equipment into the base in recent days, fuelling local anger.
The protests are not new. On June 1, hundreds of residents took to the streets, setting fires and clashing with security forces. Rights groups said that two people died during that protest, though the precise circumstances of their deaths remain unclear. On June 5, Kenyan police in the coastal city of Mombasa shot and killed two demonstrators during a separate protest against a related US-funded Ebola treatment centre in the Changamwe district. Police Inspector General Japhet Koome confirmed the two deaths, adding that at least 12 others sustained injuries. Witnesses described officers opening fire as crowds pushed through barricades.
The broader anger, however, is not just about public health. Many Kenyans see the project as an affront to national sovereignty. With no recorded Ebola case in Kenya’s history, residents argue that their country should not be turned into a quarantine zone for Americans. “If Ebola is too dangerous for Americans, it's also too dangerous for us,” one protester told RFI. Laikipia Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior described the project as “neo-colonialism.” Opposition politicians have also accused Washington of imposing a health burden on Kenya while refusing to host Ebola patients on American soil.
President William Ruto has defended the arrangement, pointing to decades of US health aid. “The American people and government have been partners with us on matters of health for close to 25 to 30 years,” Ruto said last week. “It would be most unfortunate if on one request by the Americans to set up a facility at their cost, we would refuse.” Kenya’s health minister has insisted the facility will also be available to Kenyans. The US has pledged $13.5 million to Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is battling a serious Ebola outbreak that the World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency. The outbreak has recorded 515 confirmed infections, including 91 deaths. Uganda, which neighbours both DRC and Kenya, has reported 19 cases, almost all Congolese nationals who crossed the border.
Despite the court order and growing public opposition, the Kenyan government shows no sign of backing down. For the residents of Nanyuki, the presence of an American-run Ebola facility in their town has become a daily reminder of a partnership they never agreed to.
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