Kenya court finds health minister in contempt over halted Ebola facility

NAIROBI: Kenya's High Court on Monday held Health Minister Aden Duale in contempt over continued work on an Ebola quarantine and treatment centre that had earlier been ordered halted by the court.

The facility is being built at Laikipia Air Base, around 200 kilometres from Nairobi, for potential US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major Ebola outbreak is under way. The site has about 50 isolation beds and is expected to be run by US medical staff.

The court had stopped construction after a petition by rights group Katiba Institute, which said the project was being pursued in secret and without consultation. The Law Society of Kenya, which was also part of the case, said the court found Duale in contempt because activities linked to the proposed centre continued despite the order. In a statement, the LSK said, "Public authorities are not at liberty to determine which aspects of judicial directives they will comply with."

The project has faced strong public opposition since it was announced in May, and deadly protests have taken place. Duale had told parliament earlier this month that the facility would go ahead, saying: "We will not stop it." The minister has been ordered to appear in court on Tuesday for mitigation and sentencing. Contempt of court carries a maximum penalty of a 200,000-shilling fine, six months in jail, or both.