Duale insists 23-year US health partnership justifies Laikipia Ebola isolation centre
By Martin Oduor, June 3, 2026Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has fired back at critics opposing a highly sensitive military-grade health installation, declaring that the country will not apologise for its long-standing strategic alliance with Washington.
Appearing for a heated live TV interview on Wednesday night, June 3, 2026, Duale robustly defended the setting up of a specialised Ebola isolation and quarantine centre inside the secure perimeter of the Laikipia Air Base.
The facility, financed and constructed by the United States government, has sparked an intense national security debate following warnings from prominent diplomats and public figures that Kenya is exposing itself to biological risks to satisfy Western interests.
Addressing mounting public anxieties that the Ruto administration is compromising the nation’s safety by acting as a quarantine hub for foreign nationals fleeing Ebola crisis zones in neighbouring countries, Duale dismissed the allegations as completely unfounded.
The Health CS maintained that the state remains fully in control of its borders and internal security, promising that national integrity has not been bartered away for foreign aid.
“We will not compromise the sovereignty and nationality of our country,” a defiant Duale said.
The controversy escalated following recent high-profile claims that the facility was part of a secret arrangement to fly suspect cases into secure zones within Kenya.
However, Duale insisted that the project is merely a continuation of a deeply rooted, two-decade-long institutional relationship between Nairobi and Washington.
The CS told off political opponents demanding an immediate halt to the construction, making it clear that the executive has no intention of backing down.
“We have no apology to make because we have partnered with the US in the health sector for over 23 years,” Duale stated flatly.