Katiba Institute has moved to the High Court in a bid to stop Kenya from allegedly being turned into a foreign quarantine hub for Ebola and other highly infectious diseases.

In an urgent petition filed at the Milimani High Court, the lobby group is seeking orders blocking the government from establishing, approving or allowing any Ebola quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya linked to the United States or any other foreign government.

“Kenya cannot be converted into an offshore quarantine centre for foreign governments without transparency, public participation and proper legal safeguards,” Katiba Institute argues.

The petition names the Attorney-General and the Cabinet Secretary for Health as respondents, while KELIN Kenya has been listed as an interested party.

Katiba Institute wants the court to certify the matter as urgent and issue conservatory orders halting any plans to set up or operationalise the proposed facility pending the hearing and determination of the case.

The organisation is also seeking an order compelling the Ministry of Health to table, within 24 hours, a contingency plan outlining Kenya’s preparedness, surveillance, prevention and emergency response measures in the event of an Ebola outbreak.

It further wants the government directed to publicly disclose any agreements, memoranda, negotiations or arrangements relating to the proposed facility, including environmental, biosafety and public health assessments, parliamentary or regulatory approvals, and protocols for handling persons exposed to the virus.

In court documents supported by an affidavit sworn by Nora Mbagathi, Katiba Institute claims credible media reports indicate that Kenya and the United States are in advanced talks to establish a quarantine facility in the country for American citizens exposed to Ebola and other highly infectious diseases.

Through lawyer Malidzo Nyawa, the institute argues that such an arrangement would effectively make Kenya an offshore quarantine centre for foreign states, raising serious questions of sovereignty, public health safety and constitutional accountability.

Katiba Institute says the alleged process has been shrouded in secrecy and lacks transparency, public participation and parliamentary oversight. It also argues that there is no evidence that environmental or public health impact assessments have been carried out.

The lobby group has also raised concern over Kenya’s capacity to safely handle the Ebola virus, arguing that the country does not have a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory, the highest-level facility required for handling extremely dangerous pathogens such as Ebola.

According to the petition, Kenya currently operates Biosafety Level 1 to 3 laboratories, with only three BSL-3 facilities in the country, a situation Katiba Institute says could leave citizens and health workers exposed in the event of an outbreak.

The institute also cites the High Court’s intervention during the Covid-19 pandemic in the case of Law Society of Kenya & 7 others v Cabinet Secretary for Health & 8 others, arguing that courts have previously stepped in to prevent the public from being exposed to constitutional and health risks.

Katiba Institute warns that unless the court intervenes urgently, Kenya risks being converted into a foreign quarantine destination, potentially exposing citizens and frontline health workers to a deadly disease while bypassing constitutional safeguards.

The lobby group argues that the petition raises weighty issues touching on the right to life, the right to health, public accountability, transparency and the rule of law, adding that any remedy issued after a full hearing may come too late if the alleged facility  is approved or operationalised.