Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has fundamentally changed his stance in court regarding a controversial Sh1.7 billion U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility at Nanyuki Airbase (Laikipia Air Base). In June 2026, Duale filed fresh affidavits insisting that the government immediately suspended all activities and complied with a High Court injunction halting the project. This directly contradicts his previous public statements and separate court briefings where he vehemently defended the facility, dismissed public pushback, and declared the project "unstoppable". The escalating legal and public battle centers around the following key developments: The Contradiction in Court The Compliance Claim: In his latest response to the High Court, Duale stated that the government acted in good faith and paused the project the moment conservatory orders were issued. He dismissed claims of ongoing implementation as "conjecture" and "speculative inferences". The Defiance Allegation: Civil society groups, led by the Katiba Institute and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), filed an urgent application to cite Duale and Attorney General Dorcas Oduor for contempt of court. They presented evidence, including satellite imagery and a Reuters report quoting U.S. officials, showing that U.S. military personnel and aircraft continued delivering equipment to the airbase because Kenya had not officially instructed them to stop. Shifts on Who the Facility is For Initial Defense: Duale originally downplayed public panic by stating the 50-bed facility was open to both Kenyans and Americans as part of a national disease preparedness framework. The Disconnect: Members of Parliament put Duale to task after his assertions openly contradicted the U.S. government, which explicitly stated the Laikipia facility was strictly designated to quarantine American nationals exposed to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Public Backlash and Next Steps The High Court has certified the contempt case as urgent. Activists and Laikipia residents have held street protests, carrying symbolic mock coffins to demand the complete termination of the deal. They argue the facility compromises Kenya’s health security and sovereignty, especially since Kenya has recorded zero Ebola cases. The High Court has ordered the government to publicly disclose all classified details and agreements of the Washington deal ahead of the upcoming scheduled hearings.
Source Attributed: The Standard