Milimani High Court summons CS Duale over contempt order on Ebola facility
By Zipporah Ngwatu, June 22, 2026A Milimani High Court has summoned the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, to appear before it over contempt of the court’s orders.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Patricia Nyaundi on Monday, June 22, 2026, the court found that CS Duale is in contempt of court orders issued barring the government and the health ministry from establishing an Ebola facility.
Further, Judge Nyaundi has ordered CS Duale to appear before her tomorrow, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, for mitigation and sentencing for failing to comply with court orders and instead proceeding with the establishment process of the facility at Laikipia Air Base.
“I find that in commissioning the ongoing construction of the facility at Laikipia, the 2nd respondent (CS Duale) is in continuing contempt of the orders of the court that were issued on May 28, 2026, and confirmed on 2nd June 2026; the consequence of that finding is that the said contempt will attract the sanction of the 2nd respondent by this court,” Judge Nyaundi ruled.
“Accordingly, the 2nd respondent (CS Duale) is required to attend court on June 23, 2026, at 11 am for mitigation and sentencing,” the judge added.
The court order comes after the Katiba Institute moved to court, arguing that the Attorney General (AG) and Duale have failed to comply with orders that barred them from establishing the Ebola facility pursuant to any arrangement between the United States of America (USA) and Kenya.
However, Duale’s counsel informed the court that Katiba Institute allegations of contempt against him rest entirely on unsubstantiated media reports, which, according to him, have no probative value.
Further, Duale’s counsel argued that the construction under the bilateral collaboration was suspended and that any ongoing works are undertaken solely by the government of Kenya as part of a national response to the Ebola pandemic.
“The 2nd respondent’s replying affidavit, in which he deposes that construction under the collaborative agreement with the United States was suspended immediately upon receipt of the court’s orders and that any ongoing construction forms part of the national response to the Ebola pandemic,” Duale states in his replying affidavit.
The court heard that due to the magnitude of the national risk, it was necessary for the government to proceed with the erection of a facility intended to serve Kenyan military personnel deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other Kenyans who may be exposed to the Ebola virus in the course of duty.
Judge Nyaundi states that despite Duale conceding that he understood the court to have required suspension of construction, he adopted a narrower interpretation, one that permitted him to continue the very activities the court had restrained, provided only that he proceeded outside the United States.
Notably, she states that the CS convinced himself he could continue the construction at the Laikipia Airbase by changing the participants involved rather than altering the nature of the work, all while being fully aware that the court required a complete halt to all construction activities.
Justice Nyaundi also notes that Duale’s public statements, widely reported and never disavowed, reinforce the conclusion that he intended construction to proceed notwithstanding the court’s orders.