Kenyan minister orders halt to construction of US Ebola facility

Kenya’s health minister told a court he had ordered a halt to preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order. The facility was constructed at Laikipia air base, about 125 miles (200km) from the capital, Nairobi, with about 50 isolation beds, and was expected to be managed by US medical staff for US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a large-scale Ebola outbreak.

Three people have been killed in unrest near the facility. The government ignored a previous high court order to stop work, and rights groups had petitioned the court, saying the facility was being developed secretly and without consultation. On Monday the court said it was holding the health minister, Aden Duale, in contempt for failing to respond to the order and he would appear for sentencing.

Kenya, Laikipia

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