By Humphrey Malalo
NAIROBI, June 2 (Reuters) - A Kenyan court blocked on Tuesday for another three weeks a proposed U.S. Ebola quarantine facility that has triggered protests killing two people and ordered the government to disclose its agreement with Washington.
The proposed 50-bed unit on an air force base in central Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus in Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda has angered many Kenyans. They accuse the U.S. of offloading the health risk of caring for patients.
A Kenyan court last week temporarily suspended the plan in response to a lawsuit from a legal advocacy group. However, U.S. military aircraft have continued to fly in staff and equipment in recent days, according to a U.S. official and diplomatic sources.
Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi on Tuesday issued an order barring the Kenyan government from taking any steps to build or begin operations at the facility in the town of Nanyuki before the case is resolved.
The judge also ordered the government to disclose all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility within seven days and scheduled the next hearing for June 23.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hundreds protested against the plan in Nanyuki on Monday. Protest organiser Patrick Wahome said two people were killed by gunshot wounds after police opened fire. A security source also said two people had died but did not specify cause of death.
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the deaths.
KENYAN PRESIDENT RUTO DEFENDS US AGREEMENT
On Monday, Kenya President William Ruto said the facility was part of a wider national preparedness plan and long-running health partnership with Washington.
Ruto said it would serve Kenyans and foreign nationals too, though U.S. officials have not confirmed this.
"We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing," Ruto said.
Kenyan courts are known for their independence, especially by regional standards, although activists often accuse the government of ignoring or circumventing orders.
The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is centred in eastern Congo and several cases have spilled over into neighbouring Uganda.
There have been more than 900 suspected cases, including over 220 suspected deaths from the disease.
Experts say the outbreak, declared on May 15, is likely significantly larger and more advanced than official figures suggest after circulating undetected for many weeks.
President Donald Trump's administration has said it "cannot and will not allow" any cases to enter the U.S., unlike during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa when several infected U.S. nationals were treated on U.S. soil.
A U.S. citizen who contracted Ebola while treating patients in the DRC as a medical missionary was moved to Germany last month for treatment along with five others who were exposed.
A seventh person was taken to the Czech Republic.
The facility in Nanyuki would be staffed by members of the U.S. Public Health Service, a uniformed branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.
It is meant to receive Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care in other countries, U.S. officials have said.
(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo, Edwin Okoth and Ammu Kannampilly; Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and Aaron Ross; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Andrew Cawthorne)
Posted by: Alma Angeles/NET25 News
