Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets of Nanyuki Town in fierce protests against the construction of an Ebola quarantine facility for Americans at the Laikipia Air Base in demonstrations that turned violent and left a trail of chaos across the town.
Plumes of white smoke and teargas billowed through the streets as residents engaged police in ugly and running battles. One person has been confirmed dead, with hundreds more reported to have been injured by police bullets as the situation spiralled out of control.
The anger among residents was raw and unmistakable. “Laikipia isn’t a dumping site. I am not happy about the US decision that they are going to build a quarantine in our country,” one protester, draped in a Kenyan flag, told AFP, capturing the mood of thousands who feel their land is being used against their will and without their consent.
The construction of the Ebola quarantine facility was approved by President William Ruto after his government received Sh1.7 billion from the American government. Critics argue that the arrangement amounts to Kenya selling its soil to protect American citizens, with the United States unwilling to treat any of its own nationals infected with Ebola on American soil, opting instead to fund a facility thousands of miles away in the heart of Nanyuki.
Kenya currently has no confirmed Ebola cases. However, an active outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has triggered extensive screening at the country’s entry points, raising the level of anxiety among communities living near proposed quarantine and isolation sites.
The protests in Nanyuki are the loudest and most visible sign yet that ordinary Kenyans are not prepared to silently accept decisions of this magnitude being made over their heads, regardless of the financial incentives involved.
