Kenya steps up Ebola preparedness amid Laikipia quarantine row

Health CS Aden Duale addresses a press conference alongside Ministry of Health officials during the receipt of a five-tonne medical consignment from India at JKIA on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. [Eunice Omolo, Standard]

Kenya has received five tonnes of medical supplies from India as the government raises Ebola preparedness amid a court dispute over the controversial Laikipia quarantine facility.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale received the consignment at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Wednesday, July 22, saying the shipment includes personal protective equipment (PPE) and that laboratories across the country remain on high alert.

"Our labs are on high alert. We have two more mobile labs in western Kenya," said Duale.

He added that Kenyan and United States officials will visit the isolation unit at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) as part of the country's preparedness measures.

"This is five tonnes of consignment. Part of these are PPEs," he noted.

Kenya has not confirmed any Ebola cases. However, health authorities have heightened surveillance following an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has spread into neighbouring Uganda.

The strain presents added challenges because approved vaccines and treatments developed for the Zaire strain do not provide cross-protection.

The consignment forms part of an expanded health security partnership agreed on July 7 between Kenya and India to strengthen the country's capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.

Duale also addressed questions over the government's quarantine arrangements, saying people attached to the Presidency were among those under observation.

"I don't know why you are focused on America. There are also employees of the President quarantined too for 21 days," he explained.

The remarks came amid scrutiny over the government's agreement with the United States to establish a 50-bed bio-isolation facility at Laikipia Air Base outside Nanyuki for American citizens and aid workers exposed to Ebola while responding to the outbreak in the DRC.

The project triggered protests in Nanyuki after residents and health workers opposed the plan, arguing it would expose Kenya to unnecessary public health risks. At least three protesters died during clashes with security officers in early June.

Civil society organisations, including the Katiba Institute, later challenged the project in court, arguing it lacked public participation and posed health risks.

 The High Court subsequently issued conservatory orders suspending construction and barring the admission of foreign nationals exposed to Ebola pending determination of the case.

Human rights organisations and activists have since alleged that the facility became operational despite the court orders and that seven American humanitarian workers returning from the DRC were flown into Kenya on Friday, July 17, and placed under a 21-day quarantine there.

The government has not publicly confirmed those allegations. Duale maintained that the government had complied with the court's orders.

"What I said in court is what is happening. We have respected the court. We have stopped the construction in Laikipia," he said.

He also declined to disclose the locations of Kenya's quarantine and isolation facilities.

"We will not disclose the position of our quarantine and isolation station," he added.

President William Ruto has defended the agreement with the United States, saying the isolation facility is safe and reflects Kenya's long-standing health partnership with Washington.

The court case over the project remains pending.