Kenya’s High Court has found Health Minister Aden Duale in contempt for failing to comply with orders halting construction of a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility at a military air base in central Kenya.
The facility, planned near the town of Nanyuki, is intended to host Americans who may have been exposed to Ebola during the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The project has sparked protests in Kenya, with critics questioning why the country should host such a facility and raising concerns over public health risks.
According to flight-tracking data and U.S. and diplomatic sources cited by Reuters, flights carrying medical equipment and specialist personnel have continued to arrive at the base despite court orders issued in late May and early June.
In her ruling on Monday, Justice Patricia Nyaundi Mande said Duale was guilty of contempt after commissioning construction at the site in defiance of the court’s directives.
“The Court cannot permit its orders to be rendered hollow,” the judge said.
President William Ruto has defended the project, telling Reuters last week that Kenya was right to allow the United States to build the isolation centre as part of the country’s wider emergency preparedness plans.
Duale was ordered to appear in court on Tuesday for mitigation and sentencing.