By | Victoria Wilson

 Photo: Christiaan Kooyman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, stood before a High Court judge on 23 June 2026 and announced the immediate halt of all construction at Laikipia Air Base. Justice Patricia Nyaundi had found him in contempt the day before, for defying suspension orders she had issued in late May. The injunction was extended to 23 July 2026.

The facility was a 50-bed quarantine and biocontainment centre, proposed to receive American citizens who contracted Ebola abroad. It was to be built at Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, with the authorisation of President William Ruto.

 Photo: Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana / Wikimedia Commons (Attribution)

Ruto confirmed this himself: “When President Trump asked the government of Kenya to support them by having a centre at Laikipia Air Base, I gave the okay.”

Between that authorisation and Duale’s appearance in court, one person had been shot and killed by Kenyan police during protests in Nanyuki, according to NGO Vocal Africa. Hundreds had marched. The Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya had filed a constitutional petition in the High Court. The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union stated: “If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya.”

THE OUTBREAK AND THE PROPOSAL

USAID, the U.S. agency that had funded global health response infrastructure for decades, was formally closed on 1 July 2025. In the DRC alone, that meant a funding collapse from approximately $715 million in the final quarter of fiscal year 2025 to roughly $67 million after closure. Prime contractors were laid off. Surveillance networks lost their funding. Frontline doctors resorted to personal phone credit to report case data.

Ten months later, the Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province and North Kivu was moving faster than any outbreak the World Health Organization had recorded. As of 21 June 2026, the WHO reported 1,003 cases and 254 deaths. The outbreak had crossed into Uganda, adding 20 cases and 2 deaths. The pathogen was Bundibugyo, a strain for which there is no approved vaccine and no approved treatment.

American personnel, diplomats, aid workers, and government staff operating in the region faced exposure risk. The United States proposed a quarantine facility in Kenya for American citizens infected abroad. Satellite imagery showed construction at Laikipia Air Base had already begun around 27 May 2026, before any public announcement, before any parliamentary vote, and before any consultation with Laikipia County residents.

THE BASE AND THE AGREEMENT

 Photo: Tish Madesh / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Laikipia Air Base was established during British colonial rule. The highlands of central Kenya, including Laikipia, were affected by the 1904 and 1911 Maasai Agreements, under which Maasai and Samburu pastoralists were relocated from their seasonal grazing lands. Millions of acres passed into settler ownership. The “White Highlands” system reserved the fertile highland areas for European settler ownership.

More than sixty years after independence, descendants of settler families continue to control large ranches and conservancies across Laikipia. Legal advocate Kelvin Kubai stated: “once bitten, twice shy. The present agreement is akin to the 1904 and 1911 Maasai agreements…a mistake that the people of Laikipia ain’t willing to repeat again.”

Professor David Kyule stated: “Kenyan territory remains available for strategic foreign purposes.”

The facility was not presented to Kenya’s parliament. Kenya’s constitution requires public participation in major decisions. The terms of the agreement, as reported, included the United States committing $13.5 million to Kenya’s Ebola preparedness and $112 million regionally. In exchange, Kenya would host the quarantine centre and share “de-identified” health data. The arrangement was confirmed between the two presidents directly.

Dr. Bill Muriuki described the project as “shrouded in secrecy.” The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union stated: “If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya.”

CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya reportedly opposed the proposal. Other CDC officials warned it would “make recruiting and staffing for Ebola response activities harder.”

 Photo: Government of Kenya / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

THE STREETS AND THE COURTS

The first demonstrations in Nanyuki took place on 1 June 2026. Residents of Laikipia County, healthcare workers, and civil society groups demonstrated outside the base. The Laikipia County government separately opposed the facility, citing risks to schoolchildren and potential impacts on the region’s tourism economy.

On 9 June, protests continued. Kenyan police responded with water cannons and tear gas. At least one person was shot in the head and killed, according to NGO Vocal Africa. The United States said it was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections.”

The Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya had filed a constitutional petition before the High Court, naming the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs as respondents.

 Photo: Ruslik0 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Justice Patricia Nyaundi issued an urgent conservatory order on 29 May 2026, suspending establishment of the facility. Construction continued. On 22 June 2026, Justice Nyaundi found Duale in contempt. The following day, Duale issued his halt order: “I have directed the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction, site preparation, or related activities concerning the [Laikipia airbase facility].”

THE PETITION AND WHAT IT RAISED

The constitutional petition argued that the facility was established without public participation, as Kenya’s constitution requires. The petitioners stated that Kenya’s healthcare system should not be required to receive patients carrying a disease for which there is no approved vaccine or approved treatment.

The Bundibugyo strain that drove the DRC outbreak was first identified in Uganda in 2007 and has no approved vaccine. The Laikipia Air Base was proposed as the facility’s site. Construction had already begun by 27 May 2026, two days before Justice Nyaundi issued the first suspension order.

The next substantive court hearing is scheduled for 23 July 2026.