Kenya's Parliament removes the Deputy President from office

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00:00Thanks for staying with us. Time now for Iron Africa with me, Georgia Calvin Smith. Tonight,

00:07in a first, Kenya's Senate votes to oust the country's vice president. The upper house

00:11moves ahead with the unprecedented impeachment, despite Rigati Gachagoua's absence. He was

00:17out of the picture on Thursday afternoon, rushed to hospital earlier with reportedly

00:21stress-induced chest pains. We dissect a dramatic day with our correspondent from Nairobi. He's

00:29been following developments for us. Also, the UN's climate chief says that richer countries

00:35must do more to fund poorer nations' race to combat the effects of global warming. Africa's

00:41heating up faster than the global average and seaside communities on the continent are

00:45struggling to cope with the encroaching waters as the seas rise. And there are more demands

00:52for childcare options in Ivory Coast as more women pursue their careers, as the workforce

00:58expands. The need for nurseries has as well, but it's not always an affordable option.

01:08But first, it's been a dramatic and historic day in the Kenyan political landscape. The Senate met

01:14late into the evening on Thursday as it pushed through a vote to remove Rigati Gachagoua from

01:21office just hours after he'd been admitted to hospital with chest pains that his team say

01:26were linked to stress. Now, the vice president pled not guilty earlier this week to the 11 charges

01:31underpinning the impeachment. They ranged from corruption, money laundering and fostering ethnic

01:37divisions. Now, he says that he's the victim of a political witch hunt because of a rift with

01:41President William Ruto. Our Olivia Bezo has been following the day for us. Liv, a day is a long

01:49day, a long time in politics. Talk us through the ups and downs of Thursday. It's been pretty dramatic.

02:01Good evening, Georgia. Yes, it's been a dramatic day full of twists and turns and unexpected

02:08political surprises here in Kenya. The Deputy President Rigati Gachagoua has now been impeached

02:15on charges that include corruption, ethnic division and undermining government authority.

02:21The 67 senators voted in favour of his impeachment. They voted on the 11 charges and they voted in a

02:28large majority on the first charge, which was enough for him to be removed from office. Now,

02:34this whole impeachment process had gone relatively smoothly until this Thursday. Rigati Gachagoua

02:42was supposed to defend himself in the Senate on the 11 impeachment charges. But at around 2.30,

02:50when he was supposed to appear, he was nowhere to be seen. There was a lot of uncertainty and

02:55confusion in the Senate until his lawyer explained that he was in hospital suffering from chest pain

03:04because of the stress, apparently. Now, there was also a lot of speculation over whether or not

03:10this was true. The lawyer then asked if the Senate could delay the vote until Gachagoua was

03:18out of hospital so that he could defend himself. The speaker then put forward a motion to delay

03:24the vote until until Saturday. But the senators rejected that motion and the vote went ahead. So

03:31it was definitely a day full of surprises. There was a lot of confusion and uncertainty. But now

03:37the vote has passed and the deputy president has been impeached. So what does this mean going

03:45forward to both Gachagoua and to the wider Kenyan political landscape? This must be quite disruptive.

03:56Yes, it's very disruptive. There's still a lot of uncertainty. Before the vote, Gachagoua had

04:01said that he would challenge it if it was approved. So there's uncertainty around that.

04:05The lawyers, his lawyers have also said that they're going to challenge it because he was

04:10supposed to be allowed to defend himself, which he wasn't able to do this afternoon because he was in

04:16hospital. But if this impeachment process is validated, as is expected, there is a lot of

04:22uncertainty over who will be the next deputy president of Kenya. Now, this whole process

04:28has completely altered the political alliances in the country. And to better understand the

04:34political alliances, it's important to sort of briefly summarize the political context here in

04:39Kenya. So there are more than 40 ethnic groups and there are three main ethnic groups politically in

04:46the political world here. There's the Kikuyus, which is Gachagoua's ethnic group, which is mainly

04:51located around the vote rich Mount Kenya region. Then there's the Kalenjin of President William

04:58Ruto. And finally, the Luo ethnic group, which is the group of the main opposition leader,

05:04Rayla Odinga. And they're mostly located around the Lake Victoria region. So President William

05:10Ruto initially partnered with Gachagoua to gain support in the Mount Kenya region. But then the two

05:17men fell out a few months ago. And it's now looking like Ruto is definitely turning towards the main

05:24opposition leader, Rayla Odinga. So it's definitely altering all of the political alliances here,

05:29especially ahead of the 2027 elections. Now, a lot of Kenyans that I've spoken to do expect

05:38that Ruto will face a political backlash from this whole process. And a lot of them have also told me

05:44that this is just this whole process has been a distraction from the aftermath of the protests,

05:51the anti-government protests that took place in June. Liv, thank you so much for talking us

05:56through all of that and for sticking with it through a long day. Liv, these are there for us

06:03from Nairobi and some other news. The UN's climate chief says that money from richer,

06:07developed countries must be at the core of a new deal to ramp up funding for poorer nations

06:11combating global warming. The fallout from that has seen Africa warm up faster than the global

06:21global average. Ahead of COP29 finding ways to finance the continent's shift to dealing with

06:28the fallout from climate change will be central to talks. Meanwhile, rising sea levels are

06:34affecting coastal communities across the continent. This report from Senegal.

06:43It's become a ritual for Ibrahim Adiouf. With only a few basic tools, the 63-year-old meticulously

06:50repairs the foundations of his house eroded by the relentless assaults of the Atlantic Ocean.

06:58This house will stay here as long as we're here. Because every time it breaks,

07:02I'm going to redo it. There's no problem. It can stay here for another 50 years.

07:07In Barni, a small fishing town close to Dakar,

07:10residents live under the constant threat of rising sea levels. The oldest, who still remember the

07:17large sandy beaches of their youth, say the coastline has receded by around 60 metres since

07:22the 1980s, swallowing hundreds of homes. Today, only a few run-down buildings remain,

07:28their cracked walls and mouldy roofs threatening to collapse at any moment.

07:34Left to fend for themselves, residents are doing what they can to stave off the waves,

07:39yet all are aware of fighting a losing battle.

07:43All we have to protect ourselves, to adapt. Are these tyres and empty rice bags filled with sand?

07:53I'm scared and I'm certain that if solutions aren't found, Barni will disappear.

08:01Senegal, where over half of the population lives near the sea,

08:04loses up to two metres of coastline each year according to the Environment Ministry,

08:09a phenomenon primarily caused by rising sea levels triggered by global warming. In Barni,

08:16residents are beginning to lose hope of ever winning their fight against the waves.

08:22The South African government asked Taiwan to move its representative office outside of Pretoria by

08:27the end of the month or risk closure. The demand is allegedly a result of pressure from China as

08:32relations between Beijing and South Africa warm up. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province

08:38and does not recognise its independence. Taiwan has asked Pretoria to reconsider its demand

08:45but may consider reciprocal action on South Africa's office in Taipei or even stricter

08:51visa requirements for South Africa. And as more women in Ivory Coast move forward with their

08:58careers, it's boosted economic empowerment and the workforce grows, meaning that more women are

09:04breaking with tradition, looking for more help with their kids. This report by Laurent Berchtaker.

09:12Abibatou Zembo is a street seller at Abidjan's Kokoviko market.

09:16A busy and chaotic environment that's hardly fitting for children. For months, the young

09:22woman had no choice but to bring her daughter along, but since discovering this local kindergarten,

09:28a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

09:31I work by the side of the road, so when my daughter plays there, it's really not safe.

09:37I'm happy I could send her to kindergarten. They're going to teach her to read and write.

09:42She's very alert, she talks a lot, she already knows many things.

09:47Dropping off your children at the creche, an idea that's been gaining traction in Ivory Coast,

09:52where toddlers are traditionally left in the care of relatives or nannies.

09:57But as the number of women joining the workforce continues to rise,

10:01parents are increasingly turning to preschool structures to care for their offspring.

10:06A way to lighten the load, but also to favor the development of the child.

10:13I decided to put my son in kindergarten because he can be around other children,

10:18he can learn to develop himself and his social skills,

10:21but also other things like reading, writing and learning new languages.

10:27Yet for many Ivorians, a significant obstacle remains – the cost.

10:32With annual fees sometimes exceeding 1500 euros,

10:36nurseries have long remained the privilege of the rich.

10:39In recent years, a growing number of public structures have been trying to make child care

10:44more affordable, especially for families working in the informal sector.

10:51Well that's it for Ion Africa for now,

10:52thanks for joining us though, and do so again if you can.

10:54Till then, take care.

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