ADVERT 
Kenya’s powerful doctors’ union has issued a hardline 48-hour ultimatum to the government, demanding full disclosure over alleged plans to establish a US-backed Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base.
In a blistering statement released Thursday, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) accused the government of operating in secrecy and jeopardizing national health security in pursuit of opaque foreign agreements.
Led by Secretary General Davji Atellah, the union warned that Kenya risks being turned into what it termed a “containment zone” for a deadly pathogen originating outside its borders.
“Kenya must not be reduced to a dumping ground for biohazards we did not create,” the statement read.
KMPDU sharply questioned why Kenya had allegedly been selected to host individuals exposed to Ebola, despite the current outbreak being concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The union challenged the logic of allowing potentially exposed individuals into Kenyan territory while the United States reportedly deems evacuation to its own soil unsafe.
“If the risk is too great for the United States, it cannot be acceptable for Kenya,” the doctors stated.
At the heart of the standoff is Kenya’s fragile public healthcare system. KMPDU warned that the country lacks the infrastructure, personnel, and critical supplies required to safely manage a high-risk infectious disease facility.
Doctors argue that diverting attention to a foreign-funded quarantine hub risks deepening existing systemic failures in public hospitals, where preventable deaths remain a daily reality.
The union also raised red flags over reports that the facility could be staffed by personnel from the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, sidelining Kenyan healthcare professionals.
“We will not accept a parallel, exclusionary healthcare system on Kenyan soil,” KMPDU warned, hinting at what it views as a dangerous precedent.
While not entirely opposed to international collaboration, KMPDU insisted any such project must deliver tangible benefits to Kenya — including the permanent employment of thousands of unemployed local doctors and nurses.
Crucially, the union is demanding the immediate publication of any bilateral agreements tied to the proposal.
Failure to comply, it warned, will trigger nationwide industrial action.
“The government must decide: protect its citizens or prioritize foreign interests,” the statement concluded.
The ultimatum places Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the broader administration under mounting scrutiny, as questions grow over Kenya’s role in global health security arrangements.
With the clock now ticking, the government’s response could shape not only the country’s public health policy but also its sovereignty in high-stakes international health partnerships.
