What changed
Kenya has asked Saudi Arabia to lift its suspension of visas and travel restrictions affecting Kenyan travellers over an Ebola outbreak.
Saudi Arabia has barred people who were in Kenya during the previous 21 days. Kenya says all nine confirmed cases were linked to one cluster from an imported case reported on October 6, 2026, and has asked for the decision to be reviewed.
Why it matters
The dispute reaches far beyond airport queues. Kenya’s Foreign and Diaspora Affairs ministry says the restrictions could disrupt pilgrimages, jobs, education and trade between the two countries.
Kenya is also turning the issue into a formal public-health challenge. It says Saudi Arabia should give the World Health Organization its rationale within 48 hours under Regulation 43 of the International Health Regulations, which applies when measures significantly interfere with international travel.
Kenya says WHO found the outbreak contained, advised against travel and trade restrictions, and assessed the risk outside the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbours as low. On that basis, Nairobi argues that the Saudi measures are a blanket response that goes further than the health situation warrants.
Kenya plans to raise the matter with WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention alongside other affected African countries. Saudi Arabia’s public-health justification, and how long the restrictions will last, remain unclear.
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