Kenya’s Health Minister Aden Duale confirmed on Wednesday that a controversial US-funded Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base will proceed, defying public outrage and deadly protests that killed two people earlier this week.

The project, part of a 2015 agreement under Washington’s Biological Threat Reduction Program, was designed to isolate Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major Ebola outbreak is under way. A court order temporarily blocked its opening last week.

Duale dismissed fears that the 50-bed isolation unit would serve exclusively US nationals. “Quarantine is not only for Americans. Even Kenyans will be isolated at the facility,” he told parliament, adding that Laikipia was one of 23 quarantine centres being established nationwide. “And we will not stop it.”

The protests that erupted on Monday reflected deeper unease over what critics describe as a neo-colonial use of Kenyan territory by a foreign power, compounded by anxieties about Ebola transmission. Kenya has recorded no cases of the virus despite rigorous screening, but neighbouring Uganda has confirmed 15 infections and one death.

The Laikipia facility, located roughly 200 kilometres from Nairobi, was set to be managed by American medical staff and receive arrivals by air. Duale made clear that public consultation would not feature in the government’s response. “This epidemic does not require any consultation... We are dealing with a very abnormal situation,” he said.

The minister’s remarks came as the court-ordered suspension remains in force.