KENYA’s Health Minister Aden Duale has halted the construction of a controversial US-funded Ebola quarantine facility in the country a day after he was found in contempt of court for ignoring a judge’s ruling.
Appearing in court on Tuesday, Duale apologised and said he had “directed the immediate and complete cessation” of building work at a military base in the town of Nanyuki.
Last month, the High Court ruled the construction of the 50-bed isolation centre should stop until a case brought by a rights group could be heard.
But on Monday, a judge ruled that Duale had ignored the order and allowed the project to continue.
The quarantine facility is intended for US citizens who are suspected to have contracted Ebola in the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Duale’s court appearance marked a rare occasion of a sitting Kenyan minister facing possible sanctions for contempt of court, underscoring the growing legal and political stakes surrounding the disputed Ebola facility.
“I sincerely regret any action or omission, misunderstanding or misinterpretation that may have resulted in non-compliance of the order of this court or created the perception thereof,” Duale added.
He stated that he would be “the last person to defy a court order,” highlighting his long public service career and involvement in legislative processes in the country.
High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi accepted Duale’s apology saying the minister was “discharged with a stern warning”.
Lawyers for those who took Duale to court had asked the judge to impose a 15-month custodial sentence on the minister.
Talking about what should happen next, Duale said that both the Kenyan and US governments had agreed to suspend the proposed collaboration concerning the Ebola facility following the court order.
BBC Verify analysis of satellite imagery of the site from Planet Labs taken on 20 June shows more tents had been put up there since 8 June and more surface covered with what looks like tarmac or crushed stone.
A dirt road around the site appears to have been paved. More land has been cleared of vegetation along the western and southern edges of the site where at least eight white objects which could be small tents or vehicles can be seen.
The plan to construct the quarantines centre has sparked a series of angry protests in Nanyuki, which is about 140km (87 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, during which three people have died as police attempted to disperse the demonstrators.
Among those killed was 17-year-old schoolboy Sylvester Muigai Ndung’u who nurtured ambitions of becoming a priest – witnesses say he was shot in the head, but police told the BBC they were awaiting post-mortem results to determine the cause of the boy’s death.