Duale defends Kenya’s role in controversial Ebola isolation facility plan

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has sought to quell growing concerns over plans to establish an Ebola quarantine and isolation facility at Laikipia Air Base, insisting the centre will not be reserved exclusively for Americans as previously reported.

Speaking on Citizen TV on Saturday evening, Duale said the facility would form part of Kenya's wider Ebola preparedness strategy and would be available for use by Kenyan personnel, including members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

"The facility is for everybody," Duale said when asked whether the centre would be exclusive to U.S. nationals.

The remarks come amid mounting scrutiny over reports that Kenya had agreed to host a quarantine facility for American citizens exposed to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), triggering a legal challenge that has temporarily halted the project.

Duale framed the Laikipia facility as just one component of a broader national response plan.

"We are putting in place 11 quarantine, isolation and treatment centres across the country," he said, listing facilities at Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, the National Police Service Hospital and other locations.

According to the CS, Kenya is working with 25 counties on Ebola preparedness, including 12 classified as high-risk.

He said the government has trained more than 1,000 health workers, established emergency response systems and placed laboratories on high alert as neighbouring Uganda and eastern DRC grapple with the outbreak.

As of Saturday, Duale said Kenya had tested 16 suspected Ebola cases, all of which returned negative results.

The government has also screened approximately 65,000 travellers, including 2,700 in the past 24 hours alone, he said.

Duale dismissed claims that Kenya would be importing Ebola patients into the country, arguing that the greater risk lies in undetected infections crossing porous borders.

"There is no way where it is said we are bringing Ebola patients to Laikipia," he said.

The CS repeatedly emphasized Kenya's role in regional and global health security, noting that the country hosts major international institutions and serves as a transport hub for East and Central Africa.

He also defended cooperation with the United States, saying the partnership would strengthen Kenya's health system through investments in laboratories, surveillance, testing capacity and workforce preparedness.

According to Duale, the U.S. has pledged Sh1.7 billion towards Ebola preparedness efforts.

The facility, he said, would be managed by Kenyan authorities, with KDF medical personnel working alongside American health experts.

"Kenya Defence Forces has one of the most robust medical wings," he said.

However, several questions about the arrangement remain unanswered.

Throughout the interview, Duale did not directly clarify whether Americans exposed to Ebola in DRC or Uganda would be flown to Kenya under the agreement, a key issue at the centre of public concern.

He also stopped short of committing to make public the full details of the arrangement between Kenya and the United States.

Asked whether the agreement would be published, Duale said all cooperation with the U.S. is guided by Kenyan laws and international health regulations but did not confirm whether the documents would be released.

The issue is now before the courts after the High Court issued conservatory orders temporarily suspending the planned facility and barring the admission of Ebola-exposed or infected persons into Kenya under the proposed arrangement pending further hearings.

As the legal battle continues, Duale maintained that the government's overriding concern is preparedness.