Kenya’s president has defended his country’s agreement with the United States to build a quarantine center in Kenya for Americans who are exposed to Ebola in Africa.
Kenyan President William Ruto said on June 1 that he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about the matter.
“When President Trump asked the government of Kenya to support them by having a center at Laikipia Air Base, I gave the OK because it was an agreement and a partnership with friends who have worked with Kenya for 30–40 years,” he said.
Ruto also said that the facility at the air base is similar to 23 other facilities set up across the country.
“These facilities are meant to make sure that there is proper screening, and if there is any positive identification of people who have Ebola, then immediately they are isolated; they are treated so that we avoid any spread of the disease,” he said.
“I am very confident about what we are doing as a country. I can assure the people of Kenya that the agreement between the government of Kenya and the American government is for the good of our country and for the partnership that friends like the American government have demonstrated to us over time.
“They have deployed huge resources. They’ve given us a grant of close to 200 billion Kenyan shillings [approx. $154 million] to support the building of our health infrastructure.”
An Ebola outbreak centered in Congo has sickened hundreds and killed dozens. Uganda, which borders Kenya, has also confirmed cases. No cases have been confirmed in Kenya.
U.S. officials in late May said they were working with Kenyan authorities to create a quarantine center in Kenya and that any Americans exposed to Ebola in the outbreak, and not showing symptoms, would be sent to quarantine at the center.
Kenya was chosen because of its proximity to the outbreak, because airports in the region have limited capacity, and to ensure Americans are treated in a timely manner, a Trump administration official told The Epoch Times in an email.
Seven Americans exposed to Ebola, one of whom contracted the disease, were sent to Europe for treatment earlier in the outbreak.
The plan for Kenya prompted a legal challenge. A court in Kenya on May 28 suspended the plans as the challenge advances. On Tuesday, the court extended the suspension for three weeks and ordered officials to provide documents outlining the agreement between Kenya and the United States.
“These orders maintain the current state of affairs, prevent irreversible actions from being taken before constitutional scrutiny, and ensure transparency and public accountability in a matter raising significant concerns about public health, sovereignty, and constitutional governance,” the Katiba Institute, one of the petitioners, said in a statement.
Hundreds protested against the plan in Nanyuki on Monday.
“We are here to say that we reject the Ebola quarantine proposal as residents of Laikipia Nanyuki, we do not want it,” one protester, who identified herself as Lilian, said.
Protest organizer Patrick Wahome said two people were killed by gunshot wounds after police opened fire.
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the deaths.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.