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*Update*: Police deploy tear gas at protests against Ebola facility in Nanyuki
What began as a peaceful demonstration on the morning escalated on Monday afternoon: riot police in Nanyuki used tear gas against hundreds of protesters opposing a planned US Ebola quarantine centre at the Laikipia Airbase military facility.
Hundreds of residents of Nanyuki gathered on Monday morning outside Laikipia Airbase to protest against the planned establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility by the USA. The Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) sealed off the air base as the crowd grew, as Al Jazeera reports.
By midday, the mood shifted: riot police deployed tear gas as the demonstration became increasingly unruly. France 24 reports that security forces dispersed the crowd after some protesters attempted to breach barriers. No injuries were officially reported initially.
Resistance against lack of consultation
The resistance is directed against plans to establish a facility for isolating and treating Ebola cases at the base, which is jointly used by Kenyan and US forces. Residents fear that the facility endangers the region and was planned without adequate consultation of the local population. The Straits Times quotes residents who said they only learned of the project through media reports.
Beyond street protests, political and legal pressure is also mounting. Local MPs and civil society representatives have publicly opposed the project. The Standard reports that legal steps have been initiated to stop construction until a transparent environmental impact assessment and community hearing have taken place.
Governments remain non-committal
The Kenyan government has not yet taken a clear position. The Defence Ministry merely confirmed the presence of security forces around the base without substantively addressing the allegations. The US Embassy in Nairobi had not made a public statement on the events by press time.
Nanyuki is located approximately 200 kilometres north of Nairobi and is home to an important training centre used jointly by US and British troops with the Kenyan Army. Critics argue that the choice of this location for a disease control facility is politically and security-wise sensitive – particularly since Kenya has not yet recorded a confirmed Ebola outbreak.
Sources