Protester killed at demonstration against U.S. Ebola facility in Kenya, witnesses say

Kenyan police shot and killed a protester as hundreds of people staged new demonstrations on Tuesday against a quarantine centre in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola, eyewitnesses and a protest leader told Reuters.

Patrick Wahome, who has helped organize protests in the central town of Nanyuki against the facility, and eyewitnesses at the scene said the man died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Two Reuters reporters, who did not witness the shooting themselves, saw the body lying motionless with a large wound to the head in the back of a police van.

A police spokesperson said he did not have information about the incident.

“Hooded police officers … fired live bullets and arbitrarily arrested 19 protesters,” the non-profit Kenya Human Rights Commission said in a statement posted on its X account late on Tuesday.

Officers attacked protesters and journalists, the statement added. Reuters could not independently verify the claims made by the NGO.

The proposed 50-bed unit at the Laikipia Air Base, next to Nanyuki, has angered many Kenyans. They accuse the U.S. of offloading the risk of caring for those exposed to the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, where there have been more than 500 confirmed cases and 100 confirmed deaths.

Two people were killed in protests last week in Nanyuki, where frustration has grown as Kenyan and U.S. authorities publicly reaffirm their commitment to the plan.

On Tuesday, police began firing tear gas early in the morning to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in different parts of the town. Some waved Kenyan flags, and one carried a white cross emblazoned with the phrase “Reject Ebola” in red.

More than 10 protesters were also detained by police, Reuters reporters said.

Protester Priscilla Imani said the area’s association with the quarantine facility was scaring away tourists who typically come to climb Mount Kenya or see rhinoceroses at a nearby nature conservancy.

“My message is this: Laikipia is not a dumping site and our voices must be heard,” she told Reuters.

A high court judge has twice issued orders barring Kenya’s government from taking steps to build or begin operations ⁠at the site. Her latest order gave the government one week to disclose all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility.

Joshua Malidzo, a lawyer challenging the quarantine plan on behalf of the Katiba Institute legal advocacy group, said the court’s deadline expired on Monday without the government complying.

U.S. military planes have continued to ferry in staff and equipment after the court issued its orders, according to U.S. and diplomatic sources and flight tracking data, with several aircraft expected to land this week.

Satellite imagery seen by Reuters shows a buildup of white tents since late May on a roughly 4.5-hectare plot on the airbase.

A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The United States has said it is aware of the court challenge and was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections.”

Several U.S. citizens have been exposed to Ebola in eastern D.R.C. and Uganda. Six, including one who tested positive for the disease, were moved to a medical facility in Germany last month, while another was taken to the Czech Republic.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ⁠said it “cannot and will not allow” any Ebola cases to enter the U.S.

The Nanyuki facility is designated for Americans who ​have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Kenyan officials have said the facility would also serve Kenyans and foreign nationals, but U.S. officials have not confirmed this.

Many protesters directed their anger at Kenyan President William Ruto, with some chanting “Ruto must go!” The president said last week that his administration was doing “the right thing” by establishing the centre.