Kenyan Government Exposed in Secret Agreement with Trump over Ebola Treatment Center 

High Court and physicians have categorically rejected the deal between Ruto and Washington as residents protest against the illegal deal with the United States administration

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Wednesday June 3, 2026

Geostrategic Analysis

Demonstrations erupted in Kenya over a deal struck between President William Ruto and the administration of his counterpart Donald Trump to house United States citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who are suspected of contracting Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Both the Kenyan courts and the physicians’ union have rejected the governmental decision while widespread condemnation has spread across the board inside the country.

In the latest wave of EVD outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda, there have been no detected cases in the Republic of Kenya. Critics of the government of President Ruto say that the deal with Trump is reflective of the subservient partnership between Nairobi and the world’s leading imperialist state. 

A new outbreak of EVD was discovered during early May in the border areas of Ituri Province near Uganda. Since the outbreak more than 300 cases have been announced with most of them being in the DRC. Several cases have occurred in Uganda among people who had recently visited the DRC. Inside the eastern DRC, cases have also been detected outside of Ituri in North and South Kivu provinces. 

Overall, since the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the EVD, “the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there are 321 confirmed cases in the DRC and 116 suspected cases, with 48 confirmed deaths and more than 240 suspected deaths. Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, and one suspected case.” (https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/ebola-outbreak-drc-and-region-situation-report-1-june-2-2026)

Kenya is considered an affiliate of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed in the aftermath of World War II to undermine and block the expansion of the socialist states in Europe and other geo-political regions. Since the post-WWII period, NATO has opposed the national liberation movements in Africa while being involved in the bombing of Libya in 2011 resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of millions more. 

Libyan leader Col. Mummar Gaddafi was overthrown and brutally executed at the aegis of the U.S. administration during the reign of then President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Since the destruction of the Jamahiriya in Libya, the oil-rich state has been unable to form a unitary administration. 

After 2011, the rebels empowered by the imperialist governments of NATO and their allies spread out across North and West Africa where instability has occurred in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and other states. Consequently, any ally or affiliate of NATO can in no way be considered a supporter of African unity, genuine independence, sovereignty and qualitative development.

A report published by the Associated Press on June 2 said of the situation in the East African state:

“Kenya’s President William Ruto has defended the establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility by the U.S., a move that led to further protests on Tuesday despite a court order blocking the plan. Ruto said on Monday that the U.S. had a long-standing partnership with Kenya on health matters and that the quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base was one of 24 facilities that had been established in the event of an Ebola outbreak in the country. Some Kenyans have opposed the Laikipia facility after the U.S. last week said no American Ebola patient would be allowed to return home and that patients would instead be quarantined at the facility in Kenya. The U.S. intends to commit $13 million to the partnership with Kenya. The high court on Tuesday extended orders issued Friday suspending the construction of the facility and the arrival of foreign patients. The case had been filed by the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog, Katiba Institute, who cited Kenya’s fragile health system as unable to handle foreign patients.” (https://apnews.com/article/kenya-us-ebola-quarantine-ruto-a44b252906e45ef19c41195961b5e2e3)

Kenya Serves as Outpost for Imperialist Policies

This is not the first time in recent years that the Ruto government has endangered Kenyans to please the foreign policy imperatives of Washington. Despite opposition from political parties and the Kenyan courts, Ruto deployed hundreds of police officers to Haiti under a failed attempt to end unrest in this Caribbean island-nation. 

In regard to France, the Kenyan administration hosted a summit for Paris in early May in an effort to reconfigure the imperialist state’s dominance over territories in Africa after it has been forced out of the Alliance of Sahel States in the Western region. Therefore, whether it is France, the U.S. or the former colonial power of Britain which has military troops in Kenya as well, the Ruto administration is beholden to NATO irrespective of the wishes of the masses of people.

During the demonstrations on June 1, it was reported that two people were shot dead near the Laikipia Airbase. One of the deceased was not even involved in the protests, yet he was hit by police bullets. (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz7zny3pzo)

Kenyan security forces have proven extremely violent in responding to peaceful demonstrations. During 2024, youth-led protests against an International Monetary Fund (IMF) instigated tax policy resulted in the injuring, arrests and deaths of many people. During the French conference hosted by the Kenya government, a few dozen people marched through the Central Business District (CBD) against the imperialist-backed meeting. The participants in the demonstration against the French-Africa Summit were subject to arrest and teargassing. 

During the following week, a transport workers strike was called as a result of the escalating price of fuel. These fuel price hikes are occurring internationally as a direct outcome of the Israeli-U.S. unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Four people were reported killed during the transport workers strike and more than 30 suffered injuries.

Rather than work with the youth, workers and farmers of Kenya, the Ruto administration is thoroughly committed to pleasing Washington and Paris. Consequently, the political atmosphere in East Africa’s largest economy will remain volatile. 

WHO Director General Pays Working Visit to the DRC

In response to the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the EVD, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visited the DRC beginning on May 28. Dr. Tedros wanted to illustrate the serious concern which the WHO is taking related to the latest outbreak. (https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2026-message-by-the-who-director-general-to-the-people-of-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo)

Ebola was first detected in the-then Zaire, now the DRC, some five decades ago. The worst outbreak occurred in the West African states of Guinea-Conakry, Sierra Leone and Liberia during 2013-2015, where more than 28,000 cases were detected leading to an estimated 11,000 deaths.

Tedros noted that there could have been an overestimation of the number of Bundibugyo EVD cases and deaths in the latest wave. He pledged support from the WHO in addressing the current crisis.

A joint statement issued by the WHO and the DRC government said in part that:

“While the Bundibugyo strain presents additional challenges, including the absence of a licensed vaccine or specific treatment, proven public health measures remain effective in slowing transmission and potential full recovery. The Ministry of Health, WHO and partners are working to rapidly undertake randomized control trials on candidate vaccines and treatments.

Persistent challenges include early detection and isolation of cases, contact tracing, safe and dignified burials, robust infection prevention and control in health facilities, and strong community awareness. The Government and WHO call on all communities to continue adopting protective behaviors, including regular hand hygiene, early care seeking in health facilities, and sharing accurate information.” (https://www.who.int/news/item/31-05-2026-joint-statement-by-the-government-of-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-who-concerning-the-outbreak-of-ebola-disease-caused-by-the-bundibugyo-virus)

Since the U.S. withdrew from the WHO for a second time during both administrations of Trump, their approach to global public health has been a dubious one. The White House has consistently sought to avoid international cooperation with the geo-political regions of the Global South. 

This is why the anger in Kenya is quite understandable. The U.S. has liquidated the Agency for International Development (USAID) while seeking to negotiate separate health assistance agreements with African Union (AU) member-states. Some of these states have rejected the Trump administration proposals including the Southern African nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe along with the West African state of Ghana. (https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/trump-wants-minerals-health-data-for-aid-african-nations-are-pushing-back-c04bed87)

Even in Kenya during December 2025, the courts suspended the implementation of a bilateral agreement on healthcare with the U.S. The courts claimed that the terms of the agreement violated the privacy rights of Kenyans since Washington was demanding access to healthcare data. (https://nation.africa/kenya/news/court-halts-implementation-of-kenya-us-five-year-health-deal--5293872)

Consequently, the Kenyan government under Ruto has apparently relinquished its sovereignty to the Trump administration. Therefore, it will be up to the Kenyan people to point the way forward for domestic healthcare protocols and their relationship with foreign policy towards the U.S. and other imperialist states.