“Kenya is not an American colony!”
That was the chant echoing through Nairobi and other Kenyan cities last week as furious protesters vented their anger at plans for a US-funded isolation ward for Americans exposed to Ebola abroad.
The controversial proposal has sparked fears of Ebola entering a country that has never recorded a single case of the often-fatal disease. The nearest outbreaks are unfolding more than 1,500 miles away in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where Ebola was first detected, and neighboring Uganda.
Critics argue the facility would expose Kenya to risks the United States would not accept on its own soil. Despite a…