KENYAN activists accused authorities of violating a court order from last month halting the setting up of a United States-backed Ebola quarantine centre after reports surfaced that Americans were being quarantined in the country.

The centre was meant to take in and quarantine Americans evacuated from Congo, where an Ebola outbreak that erupted two months ago has so far killed at least 930 people, out of the 2,344 cases confirmed there.

A US humanitarian organisation, the Samaritan’s Purse, said over the weekend that seven of its American staff from Congo were being quarantined in “large military tents” for 21 days in Kenya, adding that none had so far shown symptoms of Ebola.

The organisation did not say where in Kenya their workers were quarantined but local media have reported that military tents in Laikipia Air Base would house the US-backed Ebola facility. 

The air base is about 115 miles north from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, near the town of Nanyuki.

Residents of Nanyuki have staged a series of protests against the facility recently, and two people have died when the protests turned violent.

Kenya’s Ministry of Health, the US State Department and the Laikipia Air Base did not respond to requests for comment about whether Americans were being quarantined in Kenya. 

Kenya, which is hundreds of miles to the east of Congo and with the country of Uganda between them, has no confirmed Ebola cases but is a key US ally in Africa. 

The US has pledged $13.5 million (£9.9m) toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.

Kenyan President William Ruto has defended the planned US-backed quarantine facility, describing it as part of a partnership with the US. 

However, a Kenyan court last month issued an order that barred the operationalisation of the facility and Health Minister Aden Duale later ordered suspension of its construction.

The case was based on a petition by the Law Society of Kenya and constitutional lobby group Katiba Institute, which had argued against establishing a quarantine for Americans from Congo, saying that Kenya’s fragile health system could be overwhelmed in the event of an Ebola outbreak.

Katiba Institute’s chief Nora Mbagathi said: “Should any Kenyan government official be involved they have completely betrayed the public trust and must be held personally accountable.” 

In a statement, the Law Society of Kenya said that a “deliberate” violation of a court order would amount to “impunity and lawlessness.”