Katiba Institute and Senior Counsel Paul Muite have called on the government to explain reports that seven American aid workers potentially exposed to Ebola have been quarantined at the controversial bio-isolation facility at Laikipia Air Base, arguing that any such move could violate existing High Court orders suspending the site's establishment and operation.
In separate statements issued on Saturday, the constitutional advocacy group and the veteran lawyer questioned whether the reported transfer of the foreign nationals complied with court directives and urged the government to clarify the legal and public health issues surrounding the facility.
Katiba Institute said it was closely monitoring reports that the seven foreign nationals had been admitted into Kenya and placed under quarantine at the contested facility under a bilateral arrangement.
The organisation warned that if the reports are confirmed, the move would raise serious constitutional and public safety concerns, insisting that court orders should not be disregarded.
"Court orders, constitutionalism and public safety should not be ignored," the institute said.
"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."
The institute further argued that admitting individuals to the facility despite active conservatory orders would amount to defiance of the judiciary.
"Should reports of a transfer of exposed individuals under a bilateral agreement be true, this is an absolute outrage. It represents a flagrant and dangerous defiance of the active High Court conservatory orders that explicitly halted the establishment and operationalisation of this secretive site," Katiba Institute said.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite also demanded an official statement from the government, questioning whether the reported quarantine was lawful and whether adequate measures had been taken to safeguard the country against Ebola.
"Can GoK issue a Public Statement on this? Are U.S. citizens quarantined in Nanyuki Airbase in contempt of court orders? Are there NO concerns by GoK of an Ebola breakout in Kenya? All this in pursuit of some USDs by some individuals!" Muite wrote in a statement shared on X.
The calls come after Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham confirmed that seven American humanitarian workers who had been supporting Ebola response efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo had been flown to Kenya for a mandatory 21-day quarantine.
According to Reuters, the aid workers had been deployed in eastern DRC and are undergoing precautionary isolation at the U.S.-backed bio-isolation facility at Laikipia Air Base following new U.S. travel requirements.
The organisation said none of the seven workers had developed Ebola symptoms and that the quarantine was a preventive measure before they return to the United States.
The reported admission marks the first publicly confirmed use of the facility since construction began earlier this year.
The quarantine centre has remained a subject of controversy since plans emerged to establish a 50-bed bio-isolation unit for American citizens exposed to Ebola while serving in the DRC and Uganda.
The proposal sparked protests in Laikipia, with residents, civil society organisations and political leaders questioning why Kenya had been selected to host the facility.
The matter later moved to court after the Law Society of Kenya and Katiba Institute challenged the project, prompting the High Court to issue conservatory orders temporarily suspending the establishment and operationalisation of the facility pending determination of the petition.
Although Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale later directed that construction be halted following the court proceedings, questions over the legal status of the project have persisted.
Health authorities have maintained that Kenya has not recorded any Ebola cases linked to the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda. The seven American aid workers are reported to be asymptomatic and are undergoing precautionary isolation rather than treatment after testing positive for the virus.