Kenya’s government has ordered an immediate stop to work on a planned United States–run Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base, following a heated legal and political dispute over the project.

Health Minister Aden Duale told a Kenyan court that he had instructed officials to cease all construction, site preparation and related activities at the military installation. His statement came after he was cited for contempt of court for failing to comply with an earlier injunction that had already frozen work on the site.

The facility, backed by the U.S. government, was intended as an emergency quarantine and evacuation hub for American personnel in the region in the event of an Ebola outbreak. Washington began planning the site as part of its broader response framework after repeated Ebola flare-ups in Central and West Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Critics in Kenya, including local residents, civil society groups and some lawmakers, argued that the project was shrouded in secrecy and risked turning the country into a de facto holding ground for dangerous pathogens. Petitions filed in court questioned whether the government had conducted any environmental or public health impact assessments, and whether Parliament had been properly informed.

Opponents also raised sovereignty concerns, saying the arrangement appeared to give a foreign power de facto control over a sensitive health and security installation on Kenyan soil. They demanded clear guarantees that no Ebola patients from other countries would be brought into Kenya without public oversight and robust safeguards.

Government officials had previously defended cooperation with the United States as part of long-standing security and health partnerships, noting that Laikipia Air Base already hosts joint operations. But the mounting legal pressure and public unease forced a shift in tone, culminating in Duale’s formal directive to halt the project until the court rules on the underlying petition.

The suspension leaves the future of the Ebola facility uncertain and underscores the tension between global health preparedness and national consent. While international agencies have urged countries to strengthen rapid-response infrastructure for deadly outbreaks, Kenya’s case highlights how such efforts can collide with domestic politics, transparency demands and fears over biosecurity.