The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has demanded transparency from the government regarding the establishment of an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base.

In a press release on Thursday, May 28, 2026, the KMPDU Secretary General, Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah, demanded answers on why Kenya was selected over neighbouring countries.

“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid. We will not sit back and watch Kenya be treated as a containment colony for a lethal pathogen that we did not generate,” KMPDU stated.

KMPDU has questioned the logic of flying potentially exposed individuals into Kenya when the U.S. has stated it will not allow Ebola cases onto its own soil.

“We demand absolute transparency from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on why Kenya has been selected as the designated dumping ground for exposed U.S. citizens while nations directly bordering the epicentre are bypassed,” KMPDU stated.

In a detailed explanation, KMPDU noted that “If the United States believes the 12-hour medevac flight back to Washington is too dangerous for its citizens, by what logic is it safe to fly infected or exposed individuals into Kenyan airspace and drop them in Laikipia?”

The Union has further demanded the immediate publication of the bilateral text and an explanation as to why Kenya is being structurally singled out to bear what he described as biosecurity risks of a foreign superpower.

Duale’s remarks

KMPDU’s demands came moments after the recent reports regarding U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus being moved to Kenya for quarantine.

However, the Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale maintained that any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya’s national laws and public health regulations.

“Any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya’s national laws, public health regulations, biosafety and biosecurity standards, and the overriding responsibility of the Government to safeguard the health and welfare of the people of Kenya,” Duale stated.

At the time, the Ministry of Health firmly stated that the protection of Kenyan citizens, frontline health workers and communities remains paramount.

US quarantine plan

According to a publication by The New York Times published on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, the Trump administration is planning to send U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus to Kenya for monitoring and treatment, rather than bringing them back home.

The news outlet cited sources with knowledge of the plans, saying the approach would mark a shift from previous outbreaks in which exposed Americans, including health workers, were repatriated to be monitored or treated in specialised medical units in the United States.

The report said the administration earlier this month flew an American doctor who developed symptoms to Germany and transported six other Americans to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring.