A senior Kenyan health official has been found in contempt of court over the continued construction of a controversial US-backed Ebola quarantine facility, despite an earlier judicial order halting the project.
High Court Justice Patricia Nyaundi ruled on Monday that government authorities had failed to comply with existing conservatory orders and allowed work on the facility to continue.
The court summoned the cabinet secretary of health, Aden Duale, to appear on June 23 to explain the government’s actions.
“The court cannot permit its orders to be rendered hollow,” Nyaundi said, as quoted by Reuters.
The case stems from a petition filed in May by rights group Katiba Institute, which claimed that the proposed facility could pose a public health risk in a country that has never recorded a single case of Ebola.
In a separate finding, the court concluded that the Health Ministry had disclosed all available documents related to the project.
According to Katiba Institute, the records did not include environmental and social impact assessments or emergency contingency plans typically associated with high-risk health facilities.
“The fact that construction continued in direct violation of a High Court order shows that the government believed it could operate entirely above the Kenyan judicial system,” the institute’s executive director, Nora Mbagathi, noted.
The quarantine facility issue drew attention last month, after Washington announced a $13.5 million initiative to boost Kenya’s Ebola preparedness amid an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).
Despite a High Court order halting the project, Reuters reported that about 20 flights carrying equipment and personnel landed at the base between May 23 and May 31.
The project has also triggered strong opposition among local residents. Protests against the construction of the US-backed quarantine facility reportedly turned deadly, with at least three people being killed during unrest linked to demonstrations over the site.
The controversy comes amid a broader Ebola crisis in Central Africa. DR Congo is currently battling its 17th recorded Ebola outbreak. Health authorities have linked the latest outbreak, which emerged in May, to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments.
As of June 22, the country had reported 1,048 confirmed cases, including 267 deaths and 112 recoveries. Neighboring Uganda has also recorded infections, with 19 confirmed cases, two deaths, and ten recoveries.