Duale denial: US confirms seven Americans at disputed Laikipia facility
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale. In the background is a satellite image of the US-backed Ebola quarantine facility in Laikipia.
The United States has confirmed that seven American humanitarian workers are being quarantined at the highly contested Ebola isolation facility inside the Laikipia Air Base.
This, as the charity whose workers were affected, revealed for the first time that they are living in large military tents, sleeping on army cots and receiving meals supplied by the US military despite an ongoing High Court dispute over the facility.
The seven, all members of Samaritan's Purse's Disaster Assistance Response Team, are the first known occupants of the quarantine centre, which has been at the centre of public protests, parliamentary scrutiny and court proceedings challenging its establishment.
In a statement to the Nation, Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, said the seven are not showing any symptoms of Ebola but are serving a mandatory 21- day quarantine ordered by the Kenyan government.
"Samaritan's Purse has seven American Disaster Assistance Response Team staff members at the isolation centre in Kenya. None of them have any symptoms, but they are being quarantined by the Kenyan government for 21 days. They are being housed in large military tents in a fenced gravel area, sleeping on military cots, and their food is being provided by the US military. I was able to speak to them by phone this morning, thank them, and encourage them while they wait to come home," Graham said.
Franklin Graham delivers the eulogy during the funeral of his father Reverend Billy Graham in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He said the aid workers had volunteered on the front-lines of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
"We are grateful to God for the incredible men and women who have been fighting Ebola on the front lines. To me, these are true American heroes, and they do it because of their love for Jesus Christ, showing His compassion to people who are going through their darkest hour. We want to honour them and care for them well," Mr Graham said.
The US State Department separately confirmed that the Americans had been moved into the Kenyan facility, saying the relocation was a precautionary measure authorised by Kenya.
"Additional Americans who heroically volunteered on the frontlines of the Ebola response in the DRC have voluntarily moved to the Kenya facility for precautionary monitoring and isolation. All of these American humanitarians are currently asymptomatic and, at this time, have not tested positive for Ebola. This voluntary relocation to the CDC's Kenya facility is strictly out of an abundance of caution. Kenyan authorities have authorised their movement into the facility under the observation of US Public Health Service clinicians," the official said in an email to the Nation.
The official said Samaritan's Purse had worked with the US Department of State and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) throughout the Ebola response, adding that treatment decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis.
However, the State Department declined to answer questions on when the seven Americans arrived, when they are expected to leave or why they were admitted to the facility despite a High Court order suspending its establishment and operationalisation.
The revelations come a day after Kenyan government officials declined to provide details about operations at the quarantine facility when questioned about the presence of the Americans at the site, which Health CS Aden Duale had previously declared closed following a court order. Mr Duale, when asked on the infringement of the court order, told the Nation to “ask Reuters” in reference to the news agency that first broke the story. The Nation sent yet another set of questions to Mr Duale, after the confirmation by the US authorities, but he had not responded to us by the time of publishing.
The presence of the Americans has intensified questions over whether Kenyan and US authorities have defied court orders that halted the establishment of the Ebola quarantine centre.
Katiba Institute Executive Director Nora Mbagathi, whose organisation had filed the case opposing the setting up of the facility, described the development as "deeply alarming", saying any transfer of potentially exposed persons into the facility would amount to a blatant violation of existing High Court orders.
"We have been closely following the deeply alarming news reports indicating that seven foreign nationals, potentially exposed to the Ebola virus, have been admitted to Kenya and placed under quarantine at the contested Laikipia Air Base facility. Should reports of a transfer of exposed individuals under a bilateral agreement be true, this is an absolute outrage," she said.
She argued that any Kenyan official who authorised or facilitated the move would have breached both the Constitution and court orders.
The development could also expose Mr Duale to fresh contempt proceedings after he was previously found to have violated court orders suspending construction of the facility.
In June, the High Court found Mr Duale in contempt but accepted his apology and declined to jail him, warning that any further breach of its orders could result in imprisonment. Katiba Institute maintained that the CS's earlier conduct amounted to deliberate defiance of court orders and has said the court's directives remain in force pending determination of the petition set for on July 23.
