Kenyan police use tear gas at protest against US Ebola centre plan
Kenyan police fired tear gas at protesters opposing a US-backed Ebola quarantine centre planned in Nanyuki. Demonstrators cited cross-border infection risks and a lack of government transparency about the treatment facility.
A protest of several thousand people in Nanyuki was dispersed when police fired tear gas at demonstrators marching towards the Laikipia county administration building. Protesters argue that a plan for the United States to transfer some Ebola treatment cases from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya carries cross-border infection risks. Local MP Mwangi Kiunjuri said "the process has gone forward without public consultation".
A spokesperson for Kenya's health ministry said a technical agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control envisaged a facility "meeting World Health Organization standards and operating in full isolation conditions". The ministry confirmed the centre is targeted to open by the end of August. Diana Marion, secretary-general of the Public Health Physicians' Union, said "transparency and community-centred communication has not been sufficient".
The US Embassy in Nairobi said in a statement that the facility "will be built in full consultation with Kenyan authorities and meet the highest international biosafety standards". President William Ruto is expected to visit Nanyuki on Wednesday. The WHO's Africa office will conduct an additional technical inspection over the weekend.
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