At least one person has been killed after Kenyan police opened fire as hundreds of demonstrators protested a quarantine centre for US citizens exposed to Ebola, which the United States government is racing to build in the central town of Nanyuki.

On Tuesday, the NGO Vocal Africa posted on X that one person had died after being shot in the head by Kenyan police who earlier used water cannon, tear gas to disperse the crowds.

The proposed 50-bed unit at an air force base in Nanyuki has angered many Kenyans, who accuse the US of offloading the health risk of caring for those exposed to the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

Last week, hundreds took to the streets in Nanyuki amid growing frustration among residents as Kenyan and US authorities publicly reaffirmed their commitment to the plan despite court orders. At the time, the demonstration also turned violent, with at least two people killed and one wounded.

Global health emergency

The World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency on May 17 after officials detected the rare Bundibugyo strain, which they discovered had been circulating for weeks in the DRC and had spread to neighbouring Uganda.

Unlike the more common Zaire strain, there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.

There are fears that the outbreak could become one of the worst on record due to the delay in detection, as well as recent declines in health funding from the US and other Western donors. Last year, the US cut most foreign aid and effectively closed the US Agency for International Development (USAID) following the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.

The Trump administration ⁠has said it “cannot and will not allow” any cases to enter the US, unlike during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, when several infected US nationals were treated on US soil.

The Nanyuki facility is designated for Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care to other countries, US officials have said.

US military planes have continued to ferry in staff and equipment even after court orders blocking the plan, according to US and diplomatic sources and flight tracking data, with several aircraft expected to land this week.

‘Deeply sceptical’

Reporting from the protests, Global News Insight’s Malcolm Webb said the demonstrations were still ongoing several hours after riot police began dispersing the crowds.

“It escalated significantly in the afternoon … This has gone on for hours and all the demonstrators say that they don’t believe the government’s claim that this Ebola facility will bring them any benefit; they’re deeply sceptical. They say they don’t want this facility in their town,” Webb said.

Satellite imagery seen by the Reuters news agency shows an increasing build-up of white tents in the middle of a plot of land about 0.046sq km (11 acres) in area, cleared within the Laikipia airbase since May 27.

The US has said it is aware of the court challenge and was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections”.

Kenyan officials have said the facility would also serve Kenyans and foreign nationals in addition to American citizens, but US officials have not confirmed this.

Speaking to Global News Insight, medical doctor and trade unionist Bill Muriuki said the US quarantine facility was shrouded in secrecy, leaving Kenyans unclear about what exactly it would entail.

“Kenyans only became aware of it when the Secretary of State for the United States, Marco Rubio, announced it to [US] citizens. That’s when Kenyans were made aware; it’s not from our own government. To date, the deal itself has not been made public, so we cannot even say what is in it for Kenyans,” Muriuki said.

He added that the coronavirus pandemic showed Kenya was not ready to deal with another outbreak of a deadly disease.