Tear gas filled the streets as Kenyan police moved against demonstrators who had gathered to oppose a proposed US-backed Ebola quarantine centre in the country. The protesters came out with a clear message: they do not want the facility, and they want answers the government has not yet given them.
At the heart of the demonstration is a fear that is hard to dismiss. Residents are worried about what a quarantine centre near their communities could mean for cross-border infection risks. For many, the concern is not just about Ebola itself but about being kept in the dark while decisions with serious public health consequences are made on their behalf.
The government has yet to offer the kind of transparency that would ease those fears. That silence is doing as much damage as anything else, and until officials speak plainly about the plan, the tension on those streets is not going anywhere.
Originally published by BBC Africa.