Trending 
Protests against a planned US-built Ebola quarantine centre in Kenya have turned deadly, with rights group VOCAL Africa reporting that one man was killed during clashes, as President William Ruto defended the initiative.
The 27-year-old man “was shot and killed” and “died on the spot,” Hussein Khalid said in a post on X, although police, emergency services, and the Red Cross could not immediately confirm any deaths, noting only two injuries.
The facility, located at Laikipia Air Base about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Nairobi, was due to open last week to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is grappling with a major Ebola outbreak.
The US State Department said Washington will contribute $13.5 million to Kenya’s Ebola preparedness, and the centre would host 50 isolation beds managed by US medical staff.
President Ruto insisted the facility was part of a national preparedness plan. In an X post, he said it was “neither unique nor exceptional but part of a broader national preparedness system” and “will be there to serve the people of Kenya and to serve our friends, including the Americans.”
The Kenyan High Court temporarily extended a halt to the centre, requiring the government to “disclose all agreements” within seven days, following a petition by the Katiba Institute.
Small-scale protests also took place in central Nairobi, with demonstrators in protective gear carrying a coffin marked “Ebola” and placards stating: “Reject Ebola in Kenya.”
Kenya has not reported any Ebola cases, while Uganda has confirmed 15 cases, including one death. The outbreak in the DRC has now resulted in 321 cases and 48 deaths since May 15, with one US missionary infected and receiving treatment in Germany.
