Protester Killed as Kenyan Police Disperse Crowds Opposing U.S.-Backed Ebola Quarantine Facility at Laikipia Air Base

A protester was killed on Tuesday during demonstrations in Nanyuki, Kenya, after police opened fire on crowds opposing a planned quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base. Eyewitnesses and protest leader Patrick Wahome said Kenyan police shot the man, who died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Two Reuters reporters saw the body with a large wound to the head lying motionless in the back of a police van.

A police spokesperson said he did not have information about the incident. Hundreds of people staged demonstrations on Tuesday against the quarantine centre in Nanyuki. Police began firing tear gas early in the morning to disperse protesters gathered in different parts of the town.

More than 10 protesters were detained by police on Tuesday in Nanyuki. Two people were killed in protests last week in Nanyuki. The proposed facility is a 50-bed unit at Laikipia Air Base next to Nanyuki.

Satellite imagery shows a buildup of white tents since late May on a roughly 11-acre plot on the air base. A High Court judge has twice issued orders barring Kenya's government from taking steps to build or begin operations at the site. The judge's latest order gave the government one week to disclose all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility.

The court's deadline expired on Monday without the government complying. U.S. military planes have continued to ferry in staff and equipment after the court issued its orders. Several aircraft are expected to land this week.

There have been more than 500 confirmed Ebola cases in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

U.S. Citizens exposed to Ebola, including one who tested positive, were moved to a medical facility in Germany last month. U.S. citizen exposed to Ebola was taken to the Czech Republic. The Nanyuki facility is designated for Americans who have been exposed to Ebola but are still asymptomatic.

Kenyan officials have said the facility would also serve Kenyans and foreign nationals. U.S. President William Ruto said last week that his administration was doing the right thing by establishing the centre. Protester Priscilla Imani said the area's association with the quarantine facility was scaring away tourists who come to climb Mount Kenya or see rhinoceroses at a nearby nature conservancy.

"My message is this: Laikipia is not a dumping site and our voices must be heard," she told Reuters.

The United States has said it is aware of the court challenge and was working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections.