The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a petition before the High Court in Nairobi seeking to block the government from allowing the United States to establish an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility on Kenyan soil.
The LSK is challenging what it describes as a “secret deal” that would see American nationals exposed to or infected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) brought into Kenya for treatment and quarantine, a risk the US government has explicitly refused to accept on its own territory.
“The United States of America has unreservedly refused to allow any cases of Ebola to enter their country,” the petition states.
“What the United States Government refuses to accept on its own soil, it proposes to impose upon the people of Kenya.”
The petition, filed at the Milimani Law Courts under certificate of urgency, comes just one day after senior US administration officials publicly confirmed plans to establish a 50-bed facility in Kenya, with capacity expandable to 250 beds.
The facility would receive American nationals exposed to or infected with Ebola during the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, an outbreak that has surpassed 1,000 suspected cases and claimed over 220 lives as of May 26.
The LSK argues that Kenya currently has no active Ebola cases, does not possess a Level 4 bio-containment facility, and lacks significant experience managing Ebola patients.
The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), while a WHO-recognised Ebola testing laboratory, has acknowledged past biosecurity deficiencies including inadequate storage and proximity to residential populations, the court documents state.
Through their advocates Owino & McDowell, the LSK contends that the government’s actions violate multiple constitutional provisions, including the right to life (Article 26), the right to dignity (Article 28), the right to the highest attainable standard of health (Article 43), the right to a clean and healthy environment (Article 42), and the national values of transparency, public participation and accountability (Article 10).
The petition has sued the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretaries for Health and Foreign Affairs, and their respective ministries.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union has joined as an interested party.
“The decision to host a US Ebola camp touches on public health and sovereignty,” the affidavit sworn by LSK CEO Florence Muturi reads.
“The government has violated the values of public participation, transparency, and accountability by negotiating this deal in secret.”
The LSK is seeking conservatory orders restraining the respondents from permitting, approving or facilitating the establishment of any Ebola facility in Kenya pending the hearing and determination of the petition.
The petitioners also want the court to compel the Ministry of Health to disclose, within 48 hours, the full terms of any discussions or agreements with the US government.
Health experts have noted that the established international protocol for decades has been to minimise the movement of Ebola patients, the petition states.
“The proposed facility reverses that protocol for the sole benefit of the United States of America,” read the court documents.
LSK argues that the US government’s position, having invoked an emergency public health rule on May 18 barring entry to any traveller who had been present in Ebola-affected countries for the preceding 21 days , reveals a deliberate policy of “offshoring its biosecurity risk to Kenya.”
The petition further challenges the legality of any agreement between the two governments, arguing that Article 116 of the Constitution requires that any treaty binding Kenya must be submitted to and ratified by Parliament.
No evidence exists that such ratification has occurred.
“Article 116 requires that any treaty or agreement binding Kenya must be submitted to and ratified by Parliament. Article 132(3)(b) requires that the President, before acceding to a treaty, obtain approval of the National Assembly,” argues LSK.
Katiba Institute had also filed a suit over the issue.
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