How Ruto sealed deal via phone call with US govt to set up Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, May 29, 2026President William Ruto personally engaged the United States government through a high-level phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, paving the way for the highly controversial Ebola preparedness partnership in a promise that Kenya will receive millions of dollars in support amid growing regional health concerns.
According to a statement made available by U.S. government spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday, May 28, 2026, the discussion between Ruto and Rubio was about the current Ebola outbreak in the region and the coordination between Nairobi and Washington to enhance Kenya’s public health response mechanisms.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss the ongoing Ebola outbreak and US-Kenya coordination on public health response efforts. The secretary and President Ruto discussed coordinated efforts to secure vital medical supplies for Kenya and ensure the strength and preparedness of Kenya’s health system,” Tommy noted in the statement.
Inside the pact
President Ruto’s call has brought Kenya to the heart of America’s regional Ebola containment response, and Washington has made a new pledge to facilitate Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts in the amount of $13.5 million (Ksh1.7 billion).
The U.S. government also announced that it has already pledged an extra $112 million (Ksh 14 billion) in bilateral support for the Ebola response in the region.
“The United States government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts and has already committed to providing $112 million in bilateral assistance to the regional response,” the statement added.
The statement said Rubio and Ruto talked about collaboration in order to ensure Kenya has sufficient medical supplies to deal with the outbreak and bolster the country’s health system response if the spread of the outbreak happens to cross borders.
The statement further acknowledges that the US secretary and President Ruto talked about coordinated steps to procure critical health supplies for Kenya and strengthen and prepare Kenya’s health system, the US statement said.
The two leaders also agreed to continue to work together closely as the Ebola situation unfolds, marking a greater level of cooperation between Nairobi and Washington regarding emergency health surveillance and response measures.
The latest is Kenya’s increased strategic significance to the U.S. in East Africa, not least in the region’s health security, counterterrorism and trade ties.
LSK moves to court
The direct Ruto-Rubio engagement and the decision to set up a quarantine facility in Kenya have sparked uproar and renewed political debate, with the Law Society of Kenya taking a step towards the court to contest the hosting of America’s Ebola patients in Kenya.
There have been concerns that the government has not been clear about the type of agreements it has made with foreign countries on the establishment of Ebola readiness centres and potential emergency containment measures.
The latest U.S. statement, however, suggests that there is already an active joint political coordination framework in place between Kenya and the United States with respect to Ebola response planning.