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Ruto defends US-backed Ebola facility in Kenya as the 'right thing'

By Reuters Reuters
Riot police officers talk to a demonstrator during protests against a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine plan on the establishment of a 50-bed facility at a Kenyan air force base that was intended to host Americans exposed to Ebola, in Nanyuki town, in Laikipia County, Kenya June 1, 2026. REUTERS/John Muchucha
Riot police officers talk to a demonstrator during protests against a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine plan on the establishment of a 50-bed facility at a Kenyan air force base that was intended to host Americans exposed to Ebola, in Nanyuki town, in Laikipia County, Kenya June 1, 2026. REUTERS/John Muchucha John Muchucha Reuters

JOHANNESBURG - Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday said his government was doing "the right thing" by allowing the United States to set up an Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya.

"It would be most unfortunate if on one request by the Americans to set up a facility at their cost, we would refuse, we would look very inhuman," Ruto told a press conference during his state visit to South Africa.

(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina;Editing by Alexander Winning)

Kenya's President William Ruto addresses the Africa Forward Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), in Nairobi, Kenya, May 12, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Kenya's President William Ruto addresses the Africa Forward Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), in Nairobi, Kenya, May 12, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya Thomas Mukoya Reuters

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 8:32 AM.

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